


Even When I Lose My Head

by Ames24, egg_z



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Boyfriends, Coming Out, Friends to Lovers, Internalized Homophobia, LGBTQ Character, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Self-Discovery, mlm, slight nsfw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:35:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 45,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28327641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ames24/pseuds/Ames24, https://archiveofourown.org/users/egg_z/pseuds/egg_z
Summary: Dream has always "flirted" with George, so why was it just now starting to bother him? His voice, his low chuckle, his pauses after saying something he knew would rile George up, waiting, just waiting for Georges flustered response. George was becoming frustrated with Dream and it didn't help that Dream was practically begging George to come to Florida to visit. It also didn't help that George was just beginning to understand his own feelings and just why he was so bothered by Dreams teasing.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound
Comments: 45
Kudos: 141





	1. Authors Note

Intro/Author's Note  
Hiya! I'm Em or Eggz whichever is fine really. You honestly can just skip this part if you'd like but please glance over the numbered items below. I used to write stories on here all the time in junior high but they were never good and they were just dumb little cliché-esque stories. I have never put this much thought and effort into a story though (even going as far as mapping out the plot details) so this a huge step for me especially seeing as its been years since I've even written a story. I am also not that confident in my writing and am doing this solely for fun and for my poor heart that craves a slow burn dreamnotfound fanfiction. And when I say slow burn I mean SLOW burn so buckle in. Having said that I'm just going to reiterate some points. 

1) Dream and George have both said they are fine with people shipping them and writing fanfictions about them. Having said that it is important to remember that we are shipping their internet personas and not them in actuality. 

2) This will contain slight NSFW material having said that it will not be too extreme but I still wanted to warn everyone reading. I am only 17 and am not comfortable writing smut ಠ_ಠ but I still love those scenes that give the reader butterflies ;) . And of course there will be swearing because I watch way too much tommyinnit and he is a bad influence.

3) This will also hint at some slight mental illness. There is some mentioning of not eating a lot and some anxiety symptoms as well. If you are reading this please make sure you eat something today cause you're a baddie and you deserve something tasty <3

4) There is internalized homophobia in a good chunk of the book. I fought with myself quite a bit on whether or not its essential to the story but decided it made it more realistic and helps the story progresses in a much more natural manner. I hope you guys understand. 

5) Also Miss 'Rona doesn't exist in this story. Sorry babe.

If you read all that you're pretty swaggy. 

Anyways thank you for choosing to read this! I'm going to try really hard to make it good and not too full of clichés but no promises cause I already have one planned (¬‿¬)

Again Thank You!!! <3

Enjoy :)


	2. Just A Joke

George internally cursed at himself for having his webcam on during this stream.

Granted, he always had his webcam on and the sudden disappearance of his constant smiling face would only cause the fans to freak out and wonder all over twitter where their Gogy went.

Swallowing his regret, he played off his very clear uncomfortableness with an awkward chuckle. "Awww Georgie are we making you uncomfy?" Sapnap's mocking voice called from George's computer. "Shut up idiot." George weakly retorted.

"Ooooh you sure got me."

It wasn't that he was uncomfortable with the fans seeing his reaction per say, although it wasn't ideal, it was the fact that his friends could see exactly how he reacted. _He_ could see. From George's awkward smile, to his red tinted ears, and just the genuine embarrassment in his eyes. _He_ could see all of it. He being George's bestfriend and also the cause of said embarrassment. Dream.

"Yeah calm down George we're only teasing. You get flustered _so_ easily." Dream drew out the so and ended with a quiet chuckle. "I don't care if you're 'only teasing' it's starting to get old Dream." George tried to make his voice sound stern to show that he serious about wanting Dream to stop but he didn't seem to get the hint. "So do you _not_ want it to be teasing? Cause if you really wanted me to come there and give you a kiss goodnight all you had to do was ask." Dreams voice was light and humorous and George could easily hear the smile that was probably etched across Dream's face. Thinking of this only caused George to smile which was not the proper reaction to what was just said. Dream and Sapnap instantly lost their minds before George could even get a word out. "HE WANTS YOU MAN, HE WANTS YOU!" Sapnap screeched causing George to slightly wince at the increased volume in his headset. Along with Sapnap's hollering, Dream was smack in the middle of one of his signature wheezes, which meant it was hopeless for George to say anything they could even hear. George swiveled his chair to the left and looked at his wall. Nothing was of interest on it but at the moment he couldn't peel his eyes away from it, anything to try and hide his increasingly red face.

When the other two boys finally calmed down to suppressed laughter, George finally spoke up. "You two never even gave me a chance to respond."

"Oh yeah? That flirty smile was response enough. I bet you were thinking about Dreamy throwing open your door and taking you right then and there" Sapnap teased throwing him into another laughing fit. The room was starting to feel stuffy and George adjusted his blue hoodie, hoping for some extra air flow. "I was not! I wouldn't kiss Dream even if you paid me."

"Really not even for a _thousand_ dollars?" Dream chuckled.

"Nope."

" _Five_ thousand?"

"Uh-Uh."

" _Ten_ thousand?"

George was getting tired of this back and forth and decided to just end it, feeling about ready to end his stream as well. "Fine. Sure, maybe if I was offered ten thousand dollars I would kiss Dream."

Sapnap's game avatar stilled on George's screen and suddenly giggled, seemingly at nothing and George assumed he was looking at his phone. "Anyways guys I'm going to end the stream, I'm tired." George turned his attention to his stream and thanked the sudden subs and twitch primes coming in. Suddenly a large donation appeared on his screen. George's breath seemed to catch in his chest and he just stared at his screen. Sapnap and Dream busted out laughing at George's speechlessness.

The donation was for ten thousand dollars from Dream with the sentence " _When do I get my kiss?_ "

George blinked repeatedly as if to try and jumpstart his brain. He released the air he had been holding onto for dear life in his lungs and proceeded to pretended he didn't see it and muted the other two boys. He went through the rest of the ending of his steam, thanking his fans for watching, and waved goodbye into the camera. The entire time, a rage bubbling up inside him. As soon as his stream was off he flipped off his webcam and turned his attention to the discord call still open on hiscomputer. Upon unmuting his left behind friends, he released the anger without much thought. "Dream I'm sick of it. Stop."

Dream hesitated before responding, most likely taken a back by George's venom laced words. "What do you mean George? It was just a j-"

"Just a joke! I know Dream you use the same excuse! Every. Single. Time. I'm over it. It doesn't feel like a joke anymore it feels like you're- you're making fun of me. It feels...it feels....it feels like you think I'm gay or something! It's embarrassing! My whole chat, my whole fan base, even my own friends think I'm gay because of you. You need to stop." George instantly regretted his words as they left his tongue. He wanted to get his point across but he could have gone about it in a much more mature way. He also did not need to make it seem like being gay was such a bad thing. He had friends that were part of the LGBTQ+ community and supported them entirely. But it felt... _different_ when it was him being perceived as gay. Because he wasn't.

He felt a familiar knot in his stomach upon this conclusion.

He wasn't.

"George...I'm sorry I didn't know it was actually bothering you so much."

"Didn't know or didn't care?" George couldn't stop. He had been wanting to voice his grievances for so long, that they had festered into an ugly, hateful monster that he could no longer hide. "George of course I care-" Dream began but was once again cut off by George.

"No you don't! You never do because it's always been about you. You only ever care about yourself. I just have to sit here and take it because I'm just George and you're the Oh So great and amazing Dream. Well guess what? I'm not taking it anymore. Say anything flirty or sexual or anything in between to me again and I won't speak to you ever again." George was bluffing. Surely Dream knew that George would never stop being friends with him. They were pretty much stuck with each other at this point. But Dream didn't say anything. George stared at his discord icon waiting for any sign of life on the other end but it was silent. Finally Sapnap broke the silence. "George I think you're overreacting a bit. You're tired. Why don't you go to bed and we can talk about this tomorrow?"

George pushed down the urge to go off on Sapnap as well, thinking it better not to be in a fight with BOTH of his friends. He nodded his head even though neither boys could see him and cleared his throat. "You're right. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow. Goodnight."

Sapnap chimed a quick goodnight before immediately leaving the discord call, obviously uncomfortable with the tension between George and Dream. The other two boys sat in the call in complete silence. The weight of what George had said slowly started to dawn on him. Sleepy or not he should never have blown up on his bestfriend like that. Dream meant too much to him to be in a dumb fight like this. That and George didn't like the idea of going to bed angry at Dream. Strangely, the thought made his chest feel heavy. He decided to ignore that feeling.

"Dream? Are you still there?"

"Yeah. I'm still here." Dream's voice was barley above a whisper, drastically different from his usual boisterous demeanor. The heavy feeling in his chest seemed to not just be limited to bad thoughts. Dream sounded hurt, confused, and even slightly _embarrassed_. If the air had not been so thick with tension, George may have laughed at the mere idea of Dream being embarrassed. The man was too proud and confident for that. George opened his mouth to speak but didn't get a chance, as Dream finally seemed to compose himself enough to construct a sentence. "George listen I really didn't mean to upset you. Not just this time but all the other times. I- I...I didn't even know I was upsetting you I swear. I wish you would have told me, I would have stopped in a heartbeat."

George sighed and swiveled his chair to face the wall once again even though the cameras watchful gaze was no longer on him. "Dream be honest. Would you really have cared? If I wouldn't have blown up I mean. If I would have simply just said, 'Hey could you stop making jokes like that, it makes me uncomfortable.' I mean seriously would you have genuinely cared or would you have just laughed me off?"

"George, listen to me." Dream's voice cracked slightly and he seemed as if he were pleading. This caught George's attention and he immediately swiveled his chair back to the screen despite not actually be able to see Dream's face. "George if you told me to jump off a mountain I would do it with no hesitation. I would do anything for you if it would make you happy. _Anything_. I care more about you then you even know George. So you can hold me to it. I, Dream, no, _Clay_ , swear to never make another flirty joke or flirty comment that will embarrass you. Scouts honor."

George couldn't stop the smile slowly taking over his face. Dream did not like to be called by his real name and seldom used it himself so he must have meant business. "Thank you Dream it means a lot to me. Truly."

"Of course George."

George felt a slight warmth on his face at Dream's honey laced tone. There were these rare moments, usually late at night when it was just Dream and George on call, when Dream used this voice. It was soft but strong and had a slight smile behind it. It seemed like it was reserved only for George himself and he secretly hoped it was. George liked to imagine that Dream's eyes looked similar to a puppies when he used this voice and it always made him smile.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while before George spoke up. "Were you really a boy scout?"

Dream chuckled deeply, his rare non tea kettle wheeze. "No I was not."

George feigned shock and hurt. "Then your promise doesn't hold up!"

Dream laughed harder. "What?" He practically yelled and this only made him laugh harder.

"If you weren't really a scout then you can't say 'scout's honor'. So that means there is nothing backing up your statement." George smiled stupidly at his monitor and waited for Dream's response. He imagined the other boy mirroring his actions. "Ok fine then on _my_ honor." Dream finally retorted. George scoffed sarcastically. "You're honor doesn't mean anything to me."

Dream scoffed back. "Well my honor means _everything_ to me."

George rolled his eyes despite Dream not being able to see him. "Alright Mulan."

"Hey! Show some respect, Mulan is a warrior and a hero. She saved her country."

George busted out laughing before he could stop himself. Dream chuckled lightly in reply and soon they sunk into another comfortable silence. George could hear the slight creaking of Dream leaning back on his chair. George closed his eyes and imagined what Dream's room looked like. He had seen a couple of images of it while snapchatting him, nothing much though only walls and a bit of his bed. It didn't take long for his innocent thoughts of Dream's bedroom to lead to thinking about what Dream himself looked like. Sapnap always joked around and said that Dream was extremely attractive but he could never get a straight answer out of him. He imagined his hair was a soft, natural ash blonde. He knew his eyes were green but frowned at the thought that they would only look a sad yellowish brown to him. He cursed his retinas internally.

He knew he was tall. Taller than George. He imagined hugging Dream, about how Dream would easily tower over him. He decided his head would fit perfectly in the dip between his shoulder and neck. George would have to stand on his toes a bit if he wanted to put his arms around his neck. George chuckled at this thought. He realized it would be even harder to kiss him unless Dream bent down as well.

George froze.

His hand slowly went to cover his mouth as if he had said it out loud. Paranoid that he had, he timidly said Dream's name with a slight shakiness to his voice.

"Yeah? What's wrong?"

George cleared his throat, relieved. "Nothing...just checking if you were still there."

Dream exhaled contently. "Yeah I'm still here. But you should really get to bed it's almost 2 a.m. there." George smiled widely, his chest swelled with pride that Dream knew the exact time difference between them. "Are you going to sleep as well?" George knew the answer before Dream even had time to process the question. "Go to sleep this early? You got the wrong guy Georgie."

George sighed and shook his monitor awake with his mouse. "Alright well I'm going to bed then. Goodnight, Dream."

"Goodnight, George. Text me in the morning?" He again used his soft honey laced voice that made George's heart do a backflip.

"Of course." George replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Dream went silent and George thought he had already hung up. "I'm glad we didn't go to bed mad at each other. Night George."

A sound chimed from George's computer signally Dream's exit but George was frozen in place. Dream didn't want to go to bed mad either, like they were some married couple or something. Like they were a couple in generally. It shouldn't matter if they were upset with each other or not. They were just friends. Just two guys who cared about each other. George decided that the reason it mattered in the first place was just because they had a better bond then most. After chalking it up to just being such good friends, George powered of his computer and dragged himself to bed. He plugged in his phone and gave it one last glance. 2:16 a.m. It would be 9:16 p.m. in Florida. He smiled slightly thinking of how Dream wouldn't be headed to bed for another couple of hours or so. Just as he powered off his phone and turned to set it on his bedside table, it lit back up with multiple new messages.

George sighed in annoyance guessing it was Sapnap asking about the fight only to be proven wrong.

**Dream: forgot to say love you**

**Dream: goodnight**

**Dream: and no I don't consider this to be a joke because I'm not joking. I never was.**

George powered off his phone quickly and threw it on his nightstand as if he never saw the message at all.

_I'm not joking. I never was._

George told himself obviously he meant he never was joking about loving George...as a friend of course. But he found it harder and harder as the night dragged on to ignore a certain nagging thought in his head

He never was joking. About what? Everything?

As George finally started to drifted off to sleep, a small thought popped into his brain. So small he hardly noticed. So minuscule and easily passed as a joke in George's sleepy brain.

_I wonder if he was joking about the kiss._


	3. If You Have To Ask Then The Answer Is Yes

George had never slept worse in his life.

Well, that probably wasn't true, but it sure felt like it. His subconscious was annoyingly flooded with thoughts of Dream. As if him taking over his conscious wasn't bad enough. George knew it was simply because Dream had texted him before he went to sleep, which caused him to be the last thing George thought about before drifting off.

Hadn't George also had a weird thought before falling asleep? A question or something.

George threw that thought to the side and decided a shower was just what he needed to wash away all invading thoughts of Dream. After trudging pitifully to the bathroom, George stood under scorching hot water, desperate to forcefully remove the boy from his mind. This proved to not help as George recalled a conversation he once had with Dream. It was an unimportant conversation, not memorable in the slightest, yet George had no problem recalling it now.

George and Sapnap had just finished their infamous shower race and were still on the topic long after Dream had ended his stream. Sapnap was talking about how he was scared he was going to lose because his shower took longer than usual to warm up. George agreed that it also felt like it took longer for his shower to heat up than it would on any other day. Suddenly Dream chided in from seemingly nowhere. "You know this is just another reason why cold showers are superior."

"What?" George questioned. "You take cold showers? What are you a psychopath?"

Dream chuckled at George's feigned anger. "I mean not _always_ , but...usually. It's hot in Florida! Sometimes a cold shower is just what I need in the mornings." 

"Yeah, probably to calm down after waking up from all you're _wet dreams_ you naughty boy." Sapnap laughed at his joke and George suppressed his own laugh as well, embarrassed to find the immature humor funny. "Sapnap you are so dumb." Dream shot back annoyed. 

George smiled at the memory still embarrassed to find one of Sapnap's jokes funny. George then realized Dream never denied having the inappropriate dreams. He giggled to himself and began to wonder what those kind of dreams would even look like in Dream's head. George thought it must be of beautiful girls, pretty and slender like some kind of model. He remembered Dream had once said he liked brunettes and imagined what kind of girl Dream would be into. George thought he would like a girl with dark hair, similar to his own. Maybe a tall girl too, but not too tall, the perfect height, maybe the same height as George. George had already decided he was the perfect height to fit snugly in Dream's arms. Having returned to this thought, George recalled the thought that had followed.

Kissing Dream.

George shook his head as if to expel the thought but his mind refused to let it go.

Kissing Dream. What would it even be like? George imagined his lips were a nice pink, probably soft. He imagined the warmth that would radiate off of his lips alone. George seemed to always be cold and had mentioned this before to Dream. Dream had stated that he had always been told his body radiated heat like a space heater. George thought that it would be nice to have that kind of heat in the current October chill. Dream had said he was a very touchy person and always cuddled his pillow to sleep.

George wished it was him that Dream cuddled to sleep.

He wished that whenever it was a particularly cold night, Dream would pull George close to his body, arm wrapped protectively around his waist. He could practically feel Dream's tall, slender body pressed against George's back. His warm breath sweeping the back of George's neck. Dream's soft lips pressing gently on George's collarbone. Once. Twice. Moving down. Down. Down.

George gasped suddenly as the water turned so cold it felt like needles piercing his skin. His mind raced as he came back to reality. George didn't know how long he had been in the shower but knew it must have been long enough to run the hot water out. He reached for the shower knob to turn off the onslaught of seemingly miniature icicles attacking him but paused.

_No. I need to wash away those...thoughts._

George sat under the freezing water miserably waiting for his skin to become used to the cold water. The numbness never came though and George turned the water off, feeling like a pathetic kitten left in the rain. He wrapped himself in a fluffy white towel, thankful for the small amount of warmth the towel radiated. Upon entering his room, he eyed his phone. George recalled the text message from last night and felt his heart rate start to pick up.

It wasn't as if that was Dream's first time telling George he loved him. Dream actually said it every night, almost as if he would eventually wear George down enough to say it back. This was of course accompanied by Dream actually pleading with George for him to return the affectionate words. George, however, never budged. Instead he would change the subject, pretend he didn't hear him, anything to not have to say it in return. Sure this made things a bit awkward but George didn't mind, deciding the alternative was more embarrassing.

George snatched his phone off his nightstand, as if he would change his mind halfway through if he didn't move fast enough. He opened his messages with Dream and pretending as if Dream's message didn't exist in the first place. His thumbs hovered over the keyboard doing an little dance as if it would help him figure out what exactly he wanted to say. He typed a short message, unrelated to Dream's message.

**Me: tried taking a cold shower. it was awful. 1/10.**

He threw his phone back on his bed but was startled at an almost instant reply. George eyed his phone as if it was a bomb and it might as well have been. George glanced at the small alarm clock on his nightstand, taking note of the time for the first time today. It was 10:10 a.m. which meant it was an excruciatingly early 5:10 for Dream.

George let Dream's unknown message linger for a while more as he got dressed and rubbed the rest of the cold water out of his hair with the towel. Finally after what George thought had to be a good twenty minutes later, but really was only four, he opened the message thread.

**Dream: Oh yeah? If it sucked so bad why did it at least get a 1 out of 10?**

George once again let his thumbs drift across the keyboard, never making contact to actually cause words to form. Then, without much thought, he typed a quick response and let his arm drop.

**Me: because it did what it needed to do.**

Dream seemed to take eons to reply and George anxiously walked over to his computer for a simple distraction. When the alert of Dream's response finally pierced the silence, George leapt on it, not caring how to made him look.

**Dream: And what did it need to do? I usually take cold showers to forget my thoughts from the night before. What were you trying to forget?**

George's pulse began to quicken as his brain flashed through his shower thoughts. He looked around his room, anywhere but his phone. As if he could tell Dream why he thought he deserved that awful freezing shower. It was bad enough he even _had_ those thoughts in the first place. George didn't even know why he had them either. He wasn't gay and he definitely did not think of Dream in that way. Dream was his closest friend. He could never imagine doing anything like that with him. George froze. _He already had imagined it._ George threw his phone haphazardly on his desk and opened a new tab on Google. He bit his lip until it hurt as he stared at the blinking search cursor. Finally swallowing his pride and thanking that he lived alone, he typed 'Am I Gay?' into the search engine. George's eyes scanned the page as the results came in. He clicked on the first linked which was a forum where another unfortunate soul had presented the question. His story was somewhat similar to George's and he scanned it nervously. The unknown guy had a dream about his bestfriend. He was now confused and didn't know if it meant anything. So he came to the internet to ask strangers a make or break question. George swallowed nervously and finally scrolled down to the answers. The first answer made George's face turn a shameful scarlet.

_If you have to ask then the answer is yes._

George did not like this answer because deep down, in a place he refused to acknowledge, he knew it was true.

For once in his life he closed his eyes and listened to this terrifying place that he had gone his whole life ignoring. George had always known. He knew this. He just refused to accept it. Maybe it was because he was scared of what his parents would think, what his friends would think, what George himself would think. Of course he accepted people no matter what _their_ sexuality was but it was different accepting his own. He wanted to tell himself no. Tell himself he was just confused. Tell himself he was just blurring the lines of friendship into something more. Of course he knew this wasn't true as he recalled his first crush being not a girl, but a boy. They had been good friends and George liked every single thing about him. George chuckled at how his past self remembered thinking he must have been the most handsome boy in the world.At the time he was young and didn't realize what the emotions meant, chalking it up to just wanting to be like him. As he got older he realized how he truly felt but never admitted it to himself. He soon after distanced himself from said friend, with little to no explanation. George leaned back in his chair and wondered if he could just continue faking unawareness, but knew that was just unfair to himself. Even if it meant salvaging his relationship with Dream.

George sprung up and began pacing, voicing his thoughts out loud. "Oh my god. Do I have a... _crush_ on Dream? No. No surely not. That would be ridiculous and not to mention shameful. He's my bestfriend. I can't feel this way about him, he would be disgusted. Sapnap would be disgusted. All our friends would be disgusted. Everyone would- would _hate_ me. It would break apart the DreamTeam. Dream wouldn't want to be my friend anymore and I can't blame him. I'm...I'm...disgusting. Having these thoughts, these _fantasies_ about my closest friend. Oh god what do I do?" George's hands shot up to his hair and he tugged as if doing so would cause the ideas to be brought to the surface.

"I should just ignore it. Yes, ignore it, shove it down and pretend it never existed in the first place." George paced over to his full length mirror in the corner or his room. "I am straight." he seemed to command into his mirror, willingly himself to believe his words. He searched his eyes and felt them sting with the threat of tears. George tore his gaze away and blinked rapidly, refusing to cry over such a stupid matter. Trudging back to his desk and picking up his phone, George shakily opened his messages with Dream. He had left him on delivered for almost twenty minutes and decided to once again pretend Dream's message didn't exist.

**Me: what are you doing up so early?**

George swiveled his chair in lazy circles staring at the screen waiting for three small dots to appear. When the dots finally did appear, George nearly leapt out of his seat. The dots sat on his screen, taunting him, _mocking_ him. George impatiently tapped his pointer finger against the side of his phone, willingly the message to appear. As if it truly listened to his will, Dream's message appeared.

**Dream: Couldn't sleep**

**Dream: My dreams were being invaded**

George chuckled slightly and typed an innocent reply.

**Me: may I ask who was invading your dreams, Dream?**

George inwardly cringed at his lame attempt at a joke and regretted hitting send. When Dream took longer than a minute to reply George decided his joke had driven Dream away and shoved his phone into his pocket. Standing up, George stretched and made his way to the kitchen, suddenly aware of how hungry he had become. While spreading cream cheese on his extremely hot bagel and burning his fingerprints off, George began to wonder who could possibly be invading Dream's subconscious. Plopping his bagel on his plate, much to his fingertips relief, George searched his mind for any girl that Dream had mentioned lately. When he came up with nothing he decided he would just drop it, part of him not even wanting to know.

Part of him whispering that maybe, it was George?


	4. Unmuted

The lack of sleep soon caught up with George and showed quite clearly on Sapnap's stream. Dream and Sapnap threw questions at him left and right about why he seemed so tired. George simply answered that he didn't sleep well and prayed that Dream would not bring up the cold shower. He must have got the hint somehow and never once mentioned it.

"Gogy, you're kind of ruining my stream with your lack of enthusiasm. Are you doing this just cause you're still mad from last night?" Sapnap was obviously messing around, but George felt the familiar build up of anger in his throat. "Sorry Sapnap but it's not my fault that your stream just sucks and I already apologized for blowing up last night so let it go."

The other two boys went silent on the other end and George became incredibly aware at how easily he was getting upset these days. His head just didn't seem to be in the right place. It was as if he had misplaced it but George didn't even know how to find it. He suddenly had a sharp pain behind his eyes and shut them tightly, not even aware at the other two boys calling his name. George threw off his headset and exited the room, suddenly feeling suffocated. Halfway to the couch, George sprawled onto the floor, deciding he wanted something more solid. It didn't take long for George's cat to come investigate what his strange owner was doing. George turned his head to face the cat and released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

What was he doing? He wasn't acting like himself. Was it because he finally admitted to himself that he was...

So maybe he had admitted it but it seemed he had yet to accept it. Maybe that's what it was. Once he accepted who he was, he would be able to go back to being his normal self. George racked his brain for an idea on how to do so and yet again decided the best course of action was to turn to strangers on the internet. George slowly sat up and pushed himself off the ground, the action seeming to take everything out of him. As if his legs had weights tied to each one, George slowly made his way back to his room. Upon entering he saw his phone lit up with a call. Begrudgingly he picked it up from its nest on his bed and pressed accept. "What?"

"Ok I'm sorry but I thought we already resolved our fight. Did I do something wrong again?"

George forced a groan back down, not wanting Dream to think George's frustration was aimed at him. Even though it technically was partly Dream's fault George was feeling this way. "You didn't do anything wrong I'm just not feeling like myself-"

"George-" Dream had interrupted causing George to interrupt back without much thought. "Could you let me finish? Jesus I'm trying to tell you something personal and you don't even care. God Dream could you just listen to what I'm saying for once?" It was common for Dream to interrupt George but the fact that he was doing so when George was being vulnerable frustrated him. "George I get that but listen-" Dream began quickly trying to get his sentence out in one breath. "No you listen! You obviously never do even if you know it will upset me, "Mr. I-Never-Was" like seriously Dream just not be a dick for five minutes is that too much to ask?" George seethed. The other line went silent and George stared at his oh so familiar blank wall. "You done?" Dream spat taking George by surprise. "Y-yes." George squeaked, unfamiliar with Dream's venomous tone.

"Great. You were unmuted."

With that Dream hung up and George felt every nerve in his body freeze. Whipping his head towards his computer, inwardly screaming that Dream was right, he wasn't muted. Everyone on Sapnap's stream heard him.

Frustration building up faster than he could control, George stomped to his computer and ripped the cords responsible for the computer's life out of the socket. His entire set up went dark and George huffed, collapsing onto the ground. He rested his head in his hands and tried to catch his now ecstatic breathing. How could George be so stupid? Why couldn't he just let Dream finish. He felt like an idiot and couldn't see how he was going to come back from this. The fans would blame George of course, and he didn't blame them. It was his fault, he again blew up on Dream for no reason. This was now their second fight in less than forty eight hours. George didn't understand where all this pent up anger was coming from. He had never been an aggressive person before, so why was he lashing out now? Standing up from his pathetic position on the floor George sulking grabbed his phone. He decided it would be best to give Dream some space instead of immediately trying to apologize. Instead George pulled up Sapnap's stream that he was surprised to see still going. Instantly, Dream's angry voice filled the room causing a wave of nausea to hit him.

"Why is it always on me? I literally didn't do anything. And now your entire chat is saying it's my fault for being a dick? They don't even know what really happened! Seriously, George went off for no reason! Right Sapnap?"

Sapnap paused before slowly answering Dream's frustrations. "It is true that George has been...easily provoked in these last couple of days-" Sapnap was instantly cut off by a booming voice. "Last couple of days? No try the last couple of _weeks_! And have you noticed it's never directed at you? It's only ever been directed at me." This sentence alone made George's heart drop. It had always been at Dream. Sapnap was exponentially worse with the teasing and sexual jokes yet, George only ever seemed to get mad when it was Dream making those same jokes.

"Which makes no sense cause you tease him too and you make the exact same jokes as me. I am always there for George, I'm always the one apologizing, I am always the one tiptoeing around him. I'm sick of it! I'm done Sapnap. Seriously."

_Done?_

What did he mean by done? Done apologizing? Done being supportive?

Done being George's friend?

Sapnap instantly leapt to stop Dream from these thoughts. "Dream you're upset. That's understandable. But don't come to conclusions like this in front of thousands of people. I think it's time to end this stream, I couldn't find the nether fortress anyway." Dream seemed to mumble something in response but George couldn't make out what he had said. George closed the stream as Sapnap began saying thank you. George opened Twitter before he could stop himself, terrified at what the fans were saying. He knew they probably clipped it too and would see the clip all over his timeline and YouTube recommended. He clicked on his mentions and his heart stopped. It wasn't him the fans were mad at.

All over twitter people were accusing _Dream_ of being in the wrong. Apparently his little rant after George had left only made him look worse. People were accusing Dream of bullying George and being the reason George hadn't been acting like himself lately. They weren't entirely wrong. It was Dream's fault George hadn't been himself. Dream's fault George seemed to have lost his head. In place of his head was a dense fog, leaving George confused and angry. It was Dream's fault. Dream's fault George had fallen for him.

George's phone tumbled to the ground. He blinked over and over again as if it would change the conclusion George had finally reached.

George had fallen for Dream.

"No...no...no." George mumbled to himself as he began to pace his room. Sure George might have a small, tiny crush on Dream but he definitely had not _fallen_ for him. That would be insane! George didn't even know what it felt like to be in love.

"Woah. Nobody said the L word." George voiced out loud to no one but himself. Surely it wasn't love. George had never even said it to Dream in a friendly way. Why was that? George thought he loved Dream in terms of friendship. He cared about Dream more than anything else in the world. Still every time Dream told George he loved him, he couldn't bring himself to say it back. It just never seemed right. Just like it never seemed right when Dream would make those flirtatious jokes. It frustrated George but he couldn't place why. He knew Dream was just messing around. That he didn't actually mean it. But why didn't he actually mean it? Was George not good enough for the jokes to have some sliver of truth behind them?

Why did George even want Dream to mean it? The jokes and comments made George angry. Angry at Dream. Angry at himself. Angry that Dream would never truly want George, not in the same way George wanted Dream. "No! I do not... _want_ Dream. He's my bestfriend!" George shouted to the empty room. He angrily paced his room, stomping over to his mirror and shoving an accusing finger at his reflection. "Stop it."

George just couldn't accept it. Any of it. He couldn't accept that he was gay. He couldn't accept that he had a crush on his bestfriend. He couldn't accept that he wanted his bestfriend. He wanted his arms wrapped around his waist, his soft lips leaving the ghost of kisses on his neck, his collarbone, his chest, his stomach. George yelled in frustration and stomped to his bathroom. Throwing back his shower curtain as if it had done something wrong, George turned the knob as cold as it would get. Without thinking, George entered the shower, clothes and all. The freezing water felt worse than earlier that morning. His clothes clung to his body and hung heavily, as if they were trying to drag him down. George gave into his clothes request and slumped down onto the shower floor. The water mercilessly continuing its downpour of ice cold water. George's clothes stuck to him and seemed as if it were clawing at him. Clawing at his bad thoughts, at his secrets, at his anger. All the parts of him that had taken him over completely in the past few weeks. Though no matter how much the clothes tugged and pulled, everything stayed. George could not be freed from who he was becoming.

Taking a shaky breath George reached up and turned off the shower, the icicle army receding. George suddenly became aware of how cold he was. His whole body involuntarily began to shake. George slowly laid down, crumpling into a ball in order to get a bit warmer. Not even bothering to fight his heavy eyelids, George fell into a fitful, cold, dreamless sleep.


	5. Homosexuality Guru

George woke up cold and confused. Opening his eyes he was faced with white ceramic flooring. He stared vacantly at a waterdrop next to him, slowly recalling where he was. Sitting up George instantly felt stupid and pathetic. Not only did he fall asleep in the shower but he also was now sore from the embarrassing fetal position he fell asleep in. Groaning as he stood, George trudged out of the bathroom, peeling his still damp clothes from his body as if he were sheading a second skin. One glance out his window told him the sun was just starting to set which was a relief. If he had spent the whole night in the shower he would never show his face again. George threw on the warmest sweats and hoodie he owned, desperate to drive away the chill that wouldn't leave him.

George knew it was probably still to early to try and apologize to Dream but picked up his phone anyway. Glancing at the date George froze. It was the 14th but George was sure it was supposed to be the 13th. Opening his messages with Dream his suspicions were true. George had slept all of last night _and_ all of today in the shower. Now George was embarrassed and confused. He didn't feel as if he had slept that long. Definitely did not feel well rested. He actually felt _more_ tired. Hovering over the call button on Dream's name George defeatedly powered off his phone, tucking it into the safety of his pocket. George sat in his chair swiveling around trying to organize his thoughts. So much had already happened in the span of a couple days. He could feel everything unraveling around him. He knew this way long over due. The past weeks have been spent making snide little comments and choking down his rising frustration. It was only a matter of time until George couldn't hold it in anymore. He could practically feel in his bones that change was coming. Change with George, with Dream, with their friendship. George knew he wouldn't be able to hide this secret from Dream forever, but he also knew as soon as he told him that their friendship was over. That he would lose Dream forever. George just wasn't ready for that and he knew he never would be.

Sliding off his chair and collapsing into a puddle on the ground, George slowly began plugging in the poor cords that had been ripped from their home. Soon his computer sang with life as it began powering on. Crawling back into his chair as if his body weighed a ton, George waited impatiently for his computer to spring back into life. George wasn't really rushing to ask Google his pending question but he wanted something to take his attention away from how heavy his head felt. When his computer finally did turn on George hesitantly clicked the Google Chrome icon. He knew he would get some bullshit answer that wouldn't help at all but he at least wanted to try.

'How to accept that you are gay'

George didn't realize how embarrassing the question was until it stared back at him. Instinctively he looked over his shoulder as if someone would be there, judging him. He hit enter and sighed feeling stupider as the page loaded. George skipped the first link not wanting to get advice from a site that read "I'm Gay! Now What?" Scrolling down he found much more relaxed site names and clicked on one. George scanned the article and slumped in the seat. The whole thing basically said that the only answer was time. But George didn't have time. He wanted to deal with it now so he could go back to his old self.

He explored a few more sites growing increasingly sullen. He closed the browser and closed his eyes. A familiar sharp pain behind them began to creep in. George chalked it up to a headache from staring at a screen for a living and opened a nearby drawer to find some Advil. A chime came from his computer and he shot his head in its direction. It was Antfrost asking if anyone wanted to talk while he streamed. A pang of disappointment struck George's chest but was instantly replaced with an idea. George answered him immediately and he seemed surprised by George's eagerness. Soon George was in a call with him and chatting about trivial stuff.

"Hey George can I ask you a question before I start my stream?"

George bit his lip, knowing in his bones what Ant was going to ask. "Yeah sure." His voice seemed shaky and he wondered if Ant could hear it. "Why are you and Dream fighting? I've asked some of our friends but nobody seems to know and Dream and Sapnap aren't answering anyone."

George hesitated. What would he even say? That he was mad at Dream cause he had a crush on him. Mad that he couldn't accept the obvious truth about his sexuality. Mad that Dream didn't feel the same about him. George closed his eyes and released a shaky breath. He would say exactly that. He needed help with processing his emotions. He didn't want to end up waking up on the shower floor again. "Ant can I...can I tell you something really personal? Something you can't tell anyone." Ant pause and George searched the Discord page as if it would give him answers. "George are you sure you wouldn't want to talk to Sapnap or even Dream about this? I know you said you have been going through something and aren't feeling like yourself and...and I just think they would be better suited to talk about this wi-"

"I think I'm gay!" George shouted cutting Ant off. Ant went silent and George cursed at himself. What is Ant going to do about it? Sure he may be gay as well but that doesn't mean he's some homosexuality guru. "You think?" Ant practically whispered. George chuckled and stared at a stray scrap of paper on his desk. "Ok I don't think. I...I know. I just don't..."

"Don't want to know?" Ant offered. George smiled tightly. "Exactly. And no Ant I can't talk about this with Sapnap and I especially can't talk about this with Dream because...What I mean to say is I need advice. I can't seem to...accept it. I can't even truly say it out loud. Like speaking it out loud will mean there's no going back. What do I do?"

"Well George it means a lot that you trust me enough to tell me this and its actually quite ironic seeing as you're the second person to come to about this subject. But that's besides the point. Look, just remember that I may be gay but that doesn't mean I have all the answers. I can just give you some advice that helped me." George stayed silent, not wanting to miss a word Ant had to say. "Just remember that you aren't alone. You have amazing friends who will love and accept you no matter what. So even if you feel as if you can't even accept yourself, just remember that there are a bunch of people who do accept you. You will never be alone George, no matter who you choose to love."

"What if who I choose to love is my bestfriend? What happens then?"

Ant went silent. So silent George was certain he had left the call. George began to panic. He had told Ant he had feelings for Dream and now Ant was going to tell Dream. George just knew he was. Then Dream would tell all their friends and they would all hate him and then George would be alone. Ant lied! George would be alone no one would accept him and he sure as hell wouldn't accept himself. "George are you saying that...you're in love with Dream?"

George's heart rate had picked up. His face became increasingly warm and he felt as if he couldn't catch his breath. "I wouldn't say the words _in love_ but I don't know. I think I may have a possible tiny crush on him."

"And why do you think that?"

George's eyebrows furrowed together. The way Ant stated it was as if he didn't believe him. "Why? What do you mean why? I don't know Ant do you just think about making out with your friends? Is your brain casually only ever thinking about them non stop? Do you desperately wish for their touch even if it may just be a friendly hug, because you'd greedily take any form of physical contact with them? Is that how friends are Ant?" George's tone was malicious and by the time he had realized the words were already gone. "George, I didn't mean to upset you but I just wanted to be sure because what you are saying could change everything."

"I know that Ant! I know I could ruin everything, that’s why I am freaking out!"

"I didn't say ruin everything, I said _change_ everything."

George groaned in frustration. This conversation wasn't going how he wanted it to. "Same thing."

"No it really isn't." Ant mumbled and George decided to pretend not to hear him. "Please Ant just tell me what to do."

"I really can't George. I'm sorry. The only advice I can give you is to just _talk_ to Dream."

George was horrified. "What?! No! I can't! I can never tell Dream about this! You can never tell Dream about this! Promise me right now!"

"Wha-"

"Promise me!"

"Okay I promise! I won't tell Dream or anyone for that matter about our conversation. But I still think you should talk to him."

"Ant." George warned signaling he wanted to drop the topic all together. Ant got the hint and asked if George still wanted to stay for the livestream. George agreed and took a deep breath, pushing all his thoughts and feelings of Dream down. The livestream was uneventful, full of Ant and George just messing around on the DreamSMP and chatting about random stuff. George had Ant's stream open and was extremely aware of all the comments begging Ant to ask George what happened between him and Dream. If Ant noticed, he didn't say so George tried to not notice as well. That was until his computer alerted him to someone else joining the discord. "Dream! Hey!"

George's attention snapped to the discord call and sure enough Dream's name had joined his and Ant's. "Hey Ant. What are you guys doing?" Although Dream didn't address George he at least acknowledged that he was there as well. "We're just playing with the trident. I'm streaming by the way."

Dream and Ant chatted a bit while George sat and listened. It had only been a day and yet George had missed Dreams voice so much. He hated that the last time he had heard it was while Dream was angry. "George? Are you muted?" Dream's voice rang in George's ears and he could feel his face heat up. "N-no I'm not muted."

"Yeah you never are." Dream's voice was light and joking. George broke out into a grin and decided to take advantage of this opportunity, confidence flowing through him from seemingly nowhere. "Sure I do, there are plenty of times I've muted myself while speaking to you."

"Oh yeah? Why's that? Why do you have to mute yourself?" Dream seemed to be challenging George, daring him.

"Dream! I couldn't possibly say. There are kids watching this stream."

Ant broke out laughing and George quickly joined him. Dream stayed silent and George worried that he was still mad. "George what kind of things do you and Dream do off stream!" Ant didn't mean it as a question but George answered anyway, pushing how far he could go. "Ant, you don't even want to know, you'll never look at us the same again." This caused Ant to laugh louder and Dream to finally speak up. "WHAT? GEORGE!" Dream sounded flustered. George relished in it. "I'm joking. I'm joking, Ant control your chat." Ant's chat was losing their minds. Spamming DNF COMFIRMED over and over. Ant only continued laughing. Suddenly Dream chuckled causing the air in George's lungs to disappear. "Georgie we are going to have to speak after this stream, _in_ _private."_

George's room suddenly became incredibly warm. The constant chill he had since he woke up, disappearing as soon as Dream's words entered George's ears. He used the voice. The voice he only ever used with George when they were alone. He used it in front of thousands of people. George fought to keep his own voice stable. "Whatever you want, Dreamy." He applauded himself on how calm and collected he sounded even as all he could hear was his erratic heartbeat in his ears.

"Alright Ant sorry but I'm going to head out. Have a good rest of your stream." George frowned. He wanted to continue their banter, craved to hear more of his voice that he reserved just for George. George didn't even get to say bye before Dream exited the call.

"I'm actually thinking about ending the stream. You cool with that George?" Ants voice brought George back to reality and he cleared his throat. "Yeah of course."

After Ant ending his stream, George and him chatted for a couple minutes more before ultimately saying goodbye. Immediately George's phone went off with a call. George fumbled it out of his pocket, knowing who was on the other end.

"Hello?"

" _George. Come on now_ "


	6. Sleep On It

"W-What?" George cursed himself for stuttering.

"What? You know what. I thought we weren't allowed to make any flirty jokes?"

"I said YOU aren't allowed to. I never said I couldn't." George pressed his lips together tightly, the whole conversation making him nervous. What if just speaking about how he felt with Ant made his brain think it was okay to talk about with everyone? George would have to be careful, watch his every word. Dream huffed in a joking matter, "Well that just doesn't seem fair Georgie. You get to tease me in front of everyone and I just have to sit there and take it? That's so cruel Georgie."

"Stop calling me Georgie you sound like Sapnap." George laughed. It did make it seem a bit like he was talking to Sapnap, which sent his brain into instant annoyance. "What would you like me to call you then? Baby? Sweetheart? Kitten?"

George almost choked on his own spit. "What? No! None. Just call me George. You're so weird."

"I don't know, I kind of like Kitten, it has a nice ring to it."

"No it most certainly does not!" George was flustered and he knew Dream could easily hear it in his voice. George wanted to point out the fact that this banter could easily be categorized as "flirty jokes" but was scared to accidently shut down the conversation. "Imagine me calling you _Kitten_ on stream. People would shit their pants." Dream laughed at his own joke as if it was the funniest thing in the world. George tried to fight the smile creeping onto his face. "They are already losing their minds because I'm an asshole." George whispered, barley loud enough for Dream to hear him. "Which time are you talking about? The time you called me a dick in front of thousands of people or the time you told everyone we did inappropriate things together off stream?" George could hear the smile in Dream's voice but he couldn't mimic his expression. "Dream, I'm really sorry. Truly. I don't know what else to say except I don't want to fight with you ever again. You mean too much to me and the mere idea of us not being friends anymore...it shatters me." George paused feeling the sting in his eyes, a tell-all sign he was going to cry. He was never more thankful that Dream couldn't see him. "George don't worry we aren't going to stop being friends just because you called me a dick. I've been called worse by Sapnap and I couldn't stop being friends with him even if I tried."

"No I mean I'm sorry for _everything_ ," George began looking all around his room as if he could outrun the tears threatening to fall, "I'm sorry for how I've been acting these past few weeks, I'm sorry for blowing up with little to no explanation, and I'm sorry for expecting you to just deal with it. It's not fair to you." George's vision had started to blur. He continued to fight the tears despite them almost pooling over his waterline. Dream was silent, seemingly processing George's apology. "George...can you tell me what's going on? I'm worried about you."

George couldn't stop the tears now even if he tried. "I-I...I'm so _tired_. I'm tired of being angry all the time. I'm tired of hiding things. I'm tired of fighting with myself, with who I am." George chuckled at his own stupidity. "I mean it's not like fighting will change anything at this point. I just I feel like...like I've lost my head I guess. I know that sounds stupid but it's true."

"It's not stupid George. I wish...I wish you would have told me sooner. I want to help you George. I want to be there for you but you have to tell me what's going on. You have to let me in."

George wanted to tell Dream everything. He wanted to confess what has been clouding his mind and judgment these past days and he wanted Dream to tell him it was alright and that he wasn't an awful person for having these thoughts about his bestfriend. He wanted Dream to tell him it was okay because he felt the same. But George knew he would never say any of it, let alone that he was in love with George as well.

"I think I need to take a break from streaming."

When Dream didn't answer George was sure he hadn't heard him and was about to repeat himself when Dream coughed. "Taking a break from streaming doesn't mean...you're also taking a break from me...and Sapnap. Does it?" Dream sounded like a hurt puppy and it almost made George smile at how similar he was to one. "No, of course not. I'm just sick of seeing comments about how 'I'm not the same' and how 'something's wrong with me'. I just want away from it. I need to figure out my shit before I can go back to the 'old' me."

"Well I'll be here. No matter what time it is here. Just call me and I'll answer I promise. I don't even care what it's about, you can rant, you can cry, or you can just tell me a stupid joke or something." George smiled and tousled with an idea, deciding to say it in order to lighten the mood despite the embarrassment. "Wanna hear something funny but also extremely embarrassing?"

Dream chuckled slightly, "Hit me."

"I uh...I feel asleep in the shower." George covered his red face despite Dream not being able to see it. "What? How! Like standing up?" Dream laughed in his usually boisterous manner. "No! Don't be stupid. I sat down and then I just laid down and closed my eyes. Not to mention, I slept the whole night and the pretty much the whole day."

"George! No wonder you're tired. You're falling asleep in tubs."

George chuckled to himself and made his way over to his bed. He would not be sleeping in the shower tonight. "So were you like...naked?"

"Dream!" George had barley laid down before he was shooting back up per Dream's question. "What it's a normal question! I mean obviously you got in the shower naked right? But did you like grab a towel or something before you fell asleep as a makeshift blanket?"

George pursed his lips together and wondered how unstable he was willing to let Dream know he was. "I actually got in with my clothes on."

"What? Why?" Dream sounded slightly concerned and George instantly regretted telling him that anecdote of the story. "I don't know it was a spur of the moment thing. I was upset and frustrated and I just wanted to distract myself. It's not a big deal. Can we just drop it?"

Dream was silent. George laid back down and pulled the blanket over his head as if it would protect him from how crazy he sounded. "George, can I ask you a question?" Dream sounded nervous which was not an emotion George even thought Dream could express. "Is it about what I specifically asked if we could stop talking about?" Dream chuckled but it seemed uncomfortable. "Um no. I have actually been wanting to ask you for a while now but the time never seemed right." George tried to swallow but it felt as if there was cotton in his throat. "Yes Dream?"

"Do you want to come to Florida?"

George threw the blanket off his head. Did he hear him right? George? Come to Florida? Where Dream lived? Visit Dream? See Dream in person? See Dream's face for the first time ever? George felt the air escape his lungs as he tried to organize his thoughts. He couldn't see Dream in person. Not when he was having certain... _thoughts_ about him. He couldn't risk it. Not only would he have to worry about his words giving him away but also his face, his eyes, and his body language. It was too dangerous.

"George are you there?" George snapped out of his thoughts, incredibly panicked. "What?"

"Do you want to come to Florida? I can pay for the ticket and I have a guest bedroom and we can even invite Sapnap if you want." George threw his hand over his eyes and released a shaky breath. "I don't know Dream..."

"I'd pay for everything, I swear and if you decide you want to go home early, I'll book you a flight immediately no questions asked."

"Dream I-"

"It's not even as hot as I say it is. I mean its still pretty hot but I make it sound way worse than it actually is."

George sadly smiled at Dream's enthusiasm. "Dream I just don't think right now's a good time."

"Not right now. We can wait. Till like November. Like late November."

"Dream-"

"Don't decide right now. Sleep on it. You take as long as you need. Only answer me when you are absolutely positive on your answer. Okay?" Dream sounded so hopeful. George knew in the end his answer would still be no but couldn't bring himself to say so. "Alright I'll sleep on it." George knew he was just delaying the inevitable but it was better to let Dream be excited with the possible future rather than crush him with a definitive no. "Okay, sleep on it. Not in the shower though."

George laughed at Dream's stupid joke against his better judgement. "No, not in the shower."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while longer. The only sound heard on Dream's end being soft breathing that was barely audible. "Ok Dream, I'm going to go to bed."

"To sleep on it?"

George smiled and closed his eyes. "Sure. To sleep on it. Goodnight Dream."

"Goodnight George...I love you."

George opened his mouth and immediately hung up when he realized what he was about to do. He huffed out the air he had brought in to say the phrase he had never said before. He was about to tell Dream he loved him too.

But George knew it was not in the same way. 

That's why he couldn't say it back. He knew it didn't mean the same to Dream as it did to him and couldn't bring himself to be vulnerable like that. He felt like an awful friend. He scoffed at Ant's earlier advice of just telling Dream how he felt. George wasn't trying to ruin his friendship he was trying to _save_ it. George decided that no matter what he would not break and give in to Dream's request of going to Florida. Dream could offer him a kiss upon arrival and he still would say no. Things were already starting to unravel and George was just starting to sew it back together, going to Florida would result in instant disintegration.

George's phone pierced the silence with two loud dings, forcefully pulling George away from his thoughts. Picking it up, George sighed in annoyance.

**Sapnap: Dream told me you guys made up**

**Sapnap: Congrats on not being the world's biggest dickhead o7**

George threw his phone to the side, not even bothering to plug it in. Sapnap was annoying _and_ wrong. George was the world's biggest dickhead. Not only has he put Dream and Sapnap through hell these past couple of weeks making them practically walk on eggshells due to George's erratic behavior but he also made Dream look like he was in the wrong and had everyone attack him-

George lunged at his phone and opened the Twitter app. It was just what George had feared. People were trying to "cancel" Dream. They claimed he was a bully and had pushed George too many times, joke or not. George groaned and decided it was up to him to fix this. He might be the world's biggest dickhead right now but that didn't mean he should try and keep the title.

**I know that many of you heard the conversation Dream and I had on stream the other day but I'm coming on here to say that it was taken wildly out of context. I know many of you have noticed that I haven't been myself lately and I apologize. I am dealing with some personal issues but that is no excuse. Dream did not deserve me yelling at him let alone thousands of people saying he's a bad friend when he has been there for me despite how I have treated him. I would appreciate everyone to stop sending him hate and also forgive me for not treating my friends fairly. Due to my personal issues I have decided to take a break from streaming until I can work through them and get back to my normal** **self. Thank you all for understanding.**

George hesitated before hitting the button to send his message to the world. His fans were understanding, but also tended to take things out of context and even a bit too far. George really was ruining Dream's life wasn't he? George turned his head into his pillow and groaned. When had he become such a bad friend? Was it when he had first developed his crush? When _did_ he first start to have feelings for Dream? He couldn't remember when his platonic admiration for Dream started to become something much more.

Not wanting to think of Dream anymore George pulled his blanket over his head and screwed his eyes shut.

But his dreams were clouded with thoughts of him.


	7. Never Joke About A Kink

"I said I was sleeping on it!"

"That was a week ago!"

George groaned in frustration. He stared at his wall, pleading for its help as he always did when Dream was too much to handle on his own. But the wall offered no help, because it was a wall.

George had not streamed in over a week, yet was still bombarded with calls from both Dream and Sapnap daily. George almost wished for them to leave him be but shivered at the idea of being alone with his thoughts. He came to the conclusion he was actually thankful for the distraction. That is, until they started pressuring him with answering if he would come to Florida or not. But the latter didn't seem to be an option. Each time George said he didn't think it was a good idea or anything remotely close to being a no, Dream would simply say "sleep on it". George was getting frustrated and it didn't help that Sapnap was joining in on the attack.

"George what is your problem? Do you not want to see Dreamy's beautiful face?"

George felt his own face steadily grow warm. Of course he wanted to see Dream. He wanted nothing more than to see Dream. He wanted to throw his arms around his neck and melt into Dream's warm embrace. He wanted to run his hands through his hair. He wanted to finally, _finally_ , press his lips against his.

George pinched himself on his exposed calf.

"Of course I want to see Dream. I never said I didn't." George had developed a habit of pinching himself each time he began to have those thoughts about Dream. It seemed to work just fine...while he was awake. His dreams were a different story. Each night his subconscious was focused on Dream and Dream alone. George had gotten used to cold showers now, seeing as he took one every morning, desperate to erase any lingering fantasies. "Then come to Florida!" Sapnap's voice was getting higher and louder which meant he was getting annoyed. George spun his chair around and faced away from the computer as if it would end the conversation.

"George we just want to know _why_ you don't want to come. Just give us one good reason and we'll leave you alone." Dream sounded tired of fighting but George wasn't going to give in so easily just because it was Dream. "It's hot."

"I got AC."

"Money's tight."

"I'll pay for everything."

"Yeah! Sugar Daddy Dream!" Sapnap cheered through George's headset. "Sapnap, I mean this in the nicest way posssible, but you are so incredibly annoying it gives me a headache."

George smiled at Dream's feigned anger. He would love to see them both in person. He just...couldn't. Not yet anyway, maybe one day when he could get his emotions in check. George rolled his eyes. _As if that will ever happen._

"See George, you can't give us a single reason." Dream challenged, knowing he was on the verge of winning this battle.

"What about The Local Florida Man?"

"The what?" Dream and Sapnap chimed at once. George giggled and spun his chair back around. "The Local Florida Man. You know the guys in Florida that commit weird and dumb crimes all over Florida. They're scary. It's a real fear of mine, coming face to face with a Local Florida Man."

"George you are so dumb!" Dream fought through a wheeze.

"How do you know Dream isn't a Local Florida Man?" Sapnap questioned.

"Exactly! That's why I can't come to Florida."

Dream calmed himself and sighed defiantly. "You know what? Just sleep on it."

George opened his mouth to protest that he already _had_ slept on it. He had slept on it multiple times and if anything it only made him more adamant on not going. Before he could speak his grievances, Dream and Sapnap had already moved on to the new topic of Sapnap's stream he was going to start soon. George would leave the call, as he had been avoiding all forms of contact with the fans. He hid it well in front of Sapnap since it was only short calls, but Dream knew the truth, that George was only getting worse. He wasn't sleeping well and it showed in his speech. He still got easily frustrated but now more often. The sharp pain behind his eyes only came more frequently and got more painful. Dream was already worried about George not sleeping but when George confessed about the supposed headache, he only got more worried. He begged George to go the doctor's but George only said it wasn't that serious, just bothersome.

So while it was easy to hide from Sapnap, George knew that the fans would realize something was wrong with him right away and didn't want to risk even being in someone else's stream.

"George we're going to start the stream...do you want to stay?" George knew Sapnap meant well but George felt a tinge of annoyance at Sapnap for even asking. Sapnap may not have known why George was avoiding the fans, but he still knew that George wasn't ready yet. "No, I'm kind of tired, I might just call it a night." Sapnap didn't question it and told him goodnight, but Dream knew the truth and only said goodbye. Leaving the call George let out a sigh, he sunk deeper into his chair, throwing off his headset and closed his eyes, the sharp pain making it hard to keep them open. George wouldn't go to the doctor, it wasn't that serious, but he figured a WebMD search wouldn't hurt. He opened a new tab just as he got a notification of Sapnap's stream. George never said he would watch it and decided to let it play as background noise. Ignoring Sapnap's hi's and hello's for the steady influx of viewers, George typed his symptoms into the search bar. He scanned the illnesses, most saying he had cancer or had a mere few weeks to live. Dream's laugh echoed through the otherwise quiet room and George smiled. If George knew for a fact he only had a few days left to live, he would tell Dream everything. He would shout it from the rooftops. _I am in love with Dream!_

But George did not only have a few days left, well at least George didn't think he did. WebMD begged to differ. George decided just a normal Google search would be better suited. His new search prompted him with much better conclusions. Most were sinus infections, allergies, and finally migraines. He searched chronic migraines as it was better suited to what he was feeling and was prompted with the probable cause to the sharp pain behind his eyes.

_Most of the time chronic migraines are due to the accumulation of stress.Chronic migraines also may induce stress, causing a vicious cycle._

George laughed at the irony. Of course he was stressed. Every time he thought of Dream, talked to Dream, even dreamt of Dream he was stressed. He was stressed Dream would figure it out. Figure out how George truly felt, even figure out what shameful thoughts plagued George's mind. George decided he would have to just put up with the pain, as it seemed the stress would not be leaving any time soon. Suddenly George heard Dream call his name and whipped his attention to Sapnap's stream that had been playing in the background. "Yes?" George called before he realized that he was not in the call.

"Guys don't worry George is fine, we literally just got off call with him. Just...give him a bit more time." Dream's voice was tight, as if even _he_ didn't believe what he was saying. George felt his heart sink, angry at himself for making Dream lie to the fans. Dream always wanted to be honest with them, saying they they deserved it for being so loyal and so supportive all the time. It obviously made him uncomfortable and George felt like he was to blame.

George was suddenly overwhelmed with the need to escape from his guilt and stood to get a glass of water from the kitchen. Upon returning he almost spat out his water hearing Sapnap and Dream's current conversation.

"No I'm serious! If you joke about a kink you _will_ develop that kink. There's scientific proof!" Sapnap argued to a wheezing Dream. "You are an idiot!" Dream choked out between his laughing spurt. "Literally you can look it up, I'm telling the truth. Your brain doesn't know the difference between you joking and being serious, so if you joke about a piss kink you will develop a piss kink."

Dream's lungs sounded as if they deflated, gasping that he couldn't breathe from laughing so hard. George laughed as well even though they couldn't hear him and walked towards his computer to sit and listen. "It doesn't just have to be kinks though like you can joke about anything and your brain will not know the difference. You could joke about how much you love eating shit and your brain will eventually cause you to not think of it as a joke anymore."

"That is disgusting Sapnap!" Dream howled fighting down another laughing fit. George smiled and thought about joining the call. "It was just an example! Here, how about this, you know how you always joke about how much you love George?"

George's blood turned as cold as his morning showers.

"Yeah, I guess, where are you going with this Sapnap?" Dream was not laughing anymore, his voice almost a warning.

"All I'm saying is if you joke about it long enough the lines between you joking and being serious will begin to blur in your brain." Sapnap muttered as if he knew this would set Dream off but wasn't going to back down completely. "Yeah, yeah whatever. Not anymore though since George has banned me from making any 'flirty jokes' with him."

George felt lightheaded and took in as much oxygen as he could, scrambling to close the stream so he didn't have to hear anymore of the conversation. Once his room was silent again, George felt as if he could breathe again.

Why did George ban Dream from making flirty jokes!

George wish Sapnap would have informed George of this earlier, maybe by now Dream would have developed feelings for George as well. At this point George didn't much care _how_ Dream went about falling for George, he just wished he would. He imagined Dream feeling the same erratic emotions George had been dealing with. He liked the idea of Dream being nervous every time George answered the phone, thinking of him every night as he fell asleep, maybe even imagining what it would be like to kiss _George_.

George decided it was best not to indulge in such fantasies of Dream feeling the same, as it only hurt more when he came back to reality. George decided he deserved a warm shower tonight for successfully controlling his emotions around Dream.

In his bathroom, he glanced at his reflection.

He definitely could not go to Florida.

George's lack of sleep was apparent on his face as well. His bags were large enough to carry groceries in them and possibly one of those small rat dogs. He hadn't been eating very well and his skin looked taunt against his facial features. His lips were dry and cracked, showing obvious signs of improper hydration. His hair was messy but not in a cute skater boy way but in a escaped from the old folks home way. It wasn't as if George purposefully was neglecting his appearance, he just couldn't be bothered. He had more pressing things on his mind than if he drank enough water. Turning away from the mirror George decided this neglectfulness on his body was a step in the wrong direction of getting back to his normal self and would try harder to take care of himself.

The shower was the first warm shower George had taken in a long time. He welcomed the warmth hungrily and didn't pay attention to the steam flooding the room. He stood under the water with his eyes closed and released the tension in his shoulders. He seemed to be holding tension there more and more these days. No wonder he was having stress induced migraines. He wondered if he should tell Dream his internet diagnosis. Knowing Dream he would only say that it wasn't a _real_ diagnosis and that he should still go to the doctor. George smiled at the thought of Dream "Mothering" him. He knew it probably annoyed Dream to have to help George deal with all that he was struggling with but was still thankful that Dream showed no signs of caring any less than usual. Although Dream would never care for George in the same way George cared for Dream it was still comforting that he cared at all. George wished Dream were here now, desperate to sink into Dream's arms. He imagined Dream petting George's hair lovingly and whispering sweet nothings in George's ear. Dream would tell him that everything would be okay and that they would deal with it all together.

George opened his eyes as they started to sting from the threat of tears. It was cruel of George to do this to himself.

Begrudgingly, George turned off the soothingly warm water and was attacked with the room's cold air. George stood still, not wanting to move. Dream was a good friend but George knew even Dream had a limit, and George confessing his feelings was definitely way over the limit.


	8. November 28th

"Have you eaten today?"

George rolled his eyes. "Yes, I have eaten today."

"Oh yeah? What? Name off everything you have consumed today." Dream's voice was light and humorous but with a slight hint of seriousness. George didn't like how much he was worrying Dream lately and was trying his best to give him nothing to worry about.

"Fine, I had two pieces of toast, half a bag of popcorn, and three slices of leftover pizza from Domino's"

"What did you put on the toast?" George could practically hearing the smirk on Dream's face.

"Strawberry jam and you are ridiculous." It had almost been two weeks since George had "disappeared off the face of the Earth", according to the fans. The two weeks had surprisingly helped more than George thought they would. The first week was rough and felt as if it were making matters worse. By the second week, though, George was eating better and staying hydrated, this of course was due to Dream's constant reminders. George was still having trouble sleeping but it showed less in his appearance. His migraines, as he decided they were, had even lessened and George felt as if he were finally getting things back in order.

"Hey Dream?"

"Yes Gogy?"

George pursed his lips and debated his idea.

"Want to get on discord and stream?"

Dream laughed as if in relief. "Sure. I mean yes of course. I'd love to."

"Okay but you have to be honest with me and tell me if I look like shit before I decide if I want to turn my webcam on."

Dream chuckled in response and agreed to George's request. George propped his phone against his water bottle and hit the video call button. A second later George was met with Dream's familiar beige wall. "What do we think? Do I look like I just crawled out of my grave?" George glanced at the small image of himself on his phone. Despite his slight dark circles, George basically looked like his usual self.

"You look absolutely stunning Gogy." Dream sarcastically responded.

"I'm serious Dream, do you think the viewers will comment on my appearance?"

"No George you look fine, I'm serious." George fussed with his hair nervously. He debated on just leaving the webcam off, but knew that would spark more questions then just showing his tired eyes. "What about me? Am I camera ready?" Dream joked. George half expected Dream to have angled the camera at his face and was disappointed when it was the same beige wall. Dream laughed at George's pouty expression. "Sorry George but you can only see my face if you come to Florida."

"Maybe I will." George mumbled, not really for Dream to hear.

"Wait what? Really?" Dream sounded hopeful. George couldn't bring himself to flat out say no.

"I don't know, I'm thinking about it. Now that I'm feeling a bit better. And who knows? Maybe a trip to Florida is just what I need to clear my head." George couldn't believe what he was saying. Was he trying to get Dream's hopes up just to crush them in the end? George knew he couldn't go to Florida, no matter how badly he wanted to.

"Exactly! Get out of freezing England and come relax on the beach with me and Sapnap." Dream sounded ecstatic now. George smiled to hide his true thoughts.

"Let's just start the stream." George plucked his phone from its makeshift stand and hung up as fast as he could. He needed a second to compose himself before Dream could see his guilty face again. Joining the discord call, George was relieved to see Sapnap was already there.

"Hey Georgie, I hear you're finally streaming! Finally you're done sulking." George had thought it was better to keep the past two weeks secret from Sapnap only telling him that he just didn't feel like streaming. It wasn't necessarily lying. George _didn't_ feel like streaming. George thought of it more as withholding the whole truth. Sapnap didn't need to worry about George as well, Dream made sure to worry enough for the both of them.

George simply chuckled as he began his stream, jarred by the sudden close up of his face. He realized immediately that he looked at lot worse than he thought, but it was already too late. Viewers stormed in like an army. George glanced at the chat. Surprisingly, the chat was full of people saying how much they missed George and not on his corpse like appearance. George greeted the viewers and thanked them for all their kind words.

At first, George was nervous. He hadn't streamed in what felt like years and didn't know what to say or how to act. As time went on he got more comfortable and relaxed a bit. The stream went smoothly and George was grateful.

"Alright bye everyone! Thank you for all your nice comments and yes I will start streaming like normal again, thank you for being so patient. Bye!" George waved both hands at the camera and heard a chuckle from Dream in his headset. George ended the stream, thankful Dream could no longer see his face. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing you're just cute."

George was extremely grateful Dream could no longer see his face.

"Hey stop flirting! George, tell me, is it true you agreed to coming to Florida?" Sapnap butted in. George's eyebrows shot up.

"Oh? And who told you this?"

Dream sheepishly laughed. "I didn't say you agreed, I said you were _thinking_ about it. Sapnap is the one that took it and ran."

George sighed and sank down into his chair. He wanted to go to Florida but he also wanted to continue being friends with Dream. He couldn't see a possible future of him getting both. He also knew that Sapnap was going regardless of George's decision and that filled George with jealousy. Of course he knew they were just friends and obviously nothing would happen, but it didn't change the fact that George didn't want Sapnap to have Dream all to himself. Once Sapnap was there, George could say goodbye to his and Dream's daily calls. The thought alone made George's chest ache. "You know the more I think about it , the closer I am to giving in. " George admitted. It was true. George had told himself multiple times to not let Dream wear him down but George had always been weak to Dream.

"Please George it would mean a lot to me." George melted. He made up his mind. He was going to Florida. But that didn't mean he couldn't make Dream beg just a little bit more.

"I don't know..."

"George I would love you forever." Dream cooed. George rolled his eyes.

"Maybe..."

"George I will do anything."

George paused. "Anything?"

"...with reason."

George laughed and swiveled his chair slightly. "Okay make Sapnap sleep on the couch the whole time and I get the guest bed all to myself."

"Deal."

"What? No deal!" Sapnap cried. They had argued over sleeping arrangements long before George even considered coming. Sapnap thought that he deserved the bed the whole stay because he had been friends with Dream longer. George countered his argument with "Dream loves me more so I should get the bed" but that didn't hold against Sapnap. They had finally agreed on switching out between the bed and the couch but neither party was truly happy.

"Yes deal. Come on Sapnap my couch is comfy and you can still keep your stuff in the guest room. Please Nick?" Dream had pulled the real name card, knowing Sapnap wouldn't be able to say no. A cheap move but a smart one.

"Oh whatever, I'll let Princess have the bed."

George smiled but it immediately fell as he realized what this meant. "That settles it George is coming to Florida!" Dream cheered and was joined by Sapnap, but George couldn't focus on anything but the growing knot in his stomach. Maybe things would be fine, maybe George was just overreacting.

"Alright lets pick a date and book some flights."

After much arguing, less than over the bed situation though, they finally decided on a date to fly to Florida but picking a return date was a bigger ordeal.

"Two weeks? Two weeks! I've had longer spring breaks than that." Sapnap cried.

"Three weeks is way too long Sapnap, that's almost a month." George threw back. There was no way he would survive three weeks living with Dream. He didn't know if he could even survive two weeks.

"Okay, you know what I'm thinking of a number between one and ten. Whoever guesses the number gets to pick how long you guys stay...with reason." Dream had been putting up with George and Sapnap's back and forth for the past fifteen minutes, staying neutral on the whole matter. Muttering a "it's up to you" every so often.

"Really Dream? What are we twelve?" Sapnap shot back angrily.

"Just pick a number Sapnap." Dream was getting annoyed and neither of the two boys liked seeing Dream mad. Sapnap mumbled something under his breath before agreeing.

"Alright I got the number, between one and ten."

"Seven." Sapnap answered immediately. George on the other hand hesitated. His friendship rested in the hands of a number.

"Three."

"Sapnap wins, the number was nine."

Sapnap cheered. George now hated the number three. "Three weeks! That is my demand."

Dream agreed and turned his attention back to booking the tickets. Dream asked George trivial questions. If he wanted a connecting flight, or non stop. Window seat or aisle. In the morning or at night. George grumbled a "whatever" to each question. "Alright I've booked both of your flights here and back. _Oh thank you Dream, you're the best. We love you_. I know, I know. I'm pretty great." Dream joked tiredly. George could tell he was glad to finally have everything sorted and felt bad he wasn't much help in speeding up the process.

"Thank you Dreamy-pooh. I love you."

George shook his head at Sapnap and stretched his back. He felt creaky like an old man. Too much sitting. "So do we tell the fans?" George asked the question they all were wondering.

"I mean it's not like we _need_ to keep it a secret right? I don't think it would matter much and plus they'll wonder why you two aren't streaming and ask questions anyway." Dream of course did not want to hide the three boys plan from the fans. George smiled at his thoughtfulness and sighed.

"Alright so lets tell them. No reason to hide it." George agreed. Dream typed an announcement on Twitter and read it out loud before posting it. Within minutes, the fans were losing their minds. Some called it fake, others hoped this would finally be Dream's face reveal. The three chatted for a bit longer before deciding to head to bed and said their goodnights.

"So November 28th." Dream said more to himself than to them.

"November 28th." Sapnap echoed.

_November 28th_. George thought. The day he would arrive in Florida. The day he would come face to face with the man he was in love with.


	9. Gay Panic

George was panicking.

"I believe this is called gay panic."

George whipped his head to his computer and squinted angrily, as if Ant could see him. "Ant you aren't helping. You're actually doing the exact opposite of helping. I don't care what its called I need _advice_. Please." George had been calling Ant more and more these days. George said it was because Ant was the only one that knew, but Ant joked that George thought just because Ant himself was gay that he had all the answers. Which George quickly knew was not the case.

"Okay, I'm sorry George, I just think you are overreacting a little. It will be fine, I promise. Dream is your bestfriend and-"

"Exactly Ant! Dream is my bestfriend, _that I have feelings for_. And in only two days I'll be living in the same vicinity as him for three weeks. Three whole excruciating weeks." George felt his chest tighten. Why did George ever agree to this? Whatever happened to not giving in? George cursed himself for being so weak and bending so easily to Dream's wills.

"George! It will be _fine_. What do you thinks going to happen? You'll jump Dream like a rabid dog?"

"Maybe." George grumbled.

"George, all your fears are so unlikely to happen, it's embarrassing to even call them fears. You've managed to hide your feelings for almost a month now, what's three more weeks? Plus it's not like you will be left alone with just Dream, Sapnap will be there and if I know Sapnap, he will demand all the attention anyway." George grinned, easily seeing Sapnap requesting all attention be on him at all times. Maybe Ant was right. George was a grown man for Christ sake! Not some hormonal teenager. He could handle three weeks with his bestfriend, in love with him or not.

"You're right Ant, everything will be fine. I'm a big boy, I can do this."

"A big boy huh? Please Georgie, do tell why?" George practically pissed himself hearing Sapnap's voice. Ant went eerily quiet, and George cursed him for not warning George of Sapnap's arrival. "Hello? George? Can you guys hear me?"

"Yes Sapnap, we can hear you. What are you doing lurking in other people's calls?" George was angry but mostly at himself. Why couldn't he just call Ant on the phone like a normal person? Because George was an idiot and didn't know how to do things the smart way.

"Hey, I just wanted to see what you guys were talking about, I didn't know I wasn't allowed at your Big Boy party."

George ran a shaky hand through his hair. How much had Sapnap heard? He didn't seem to have heard much, seeing as he wasn't bombarding George with questions. George needed to be more careful, if Sapnap found out he would tell Dream for sure. "It's between me and Ant, Sapnap. Just stay out of it."

"You know George, you better fix that attitude before you get to Florida because I will beat your ass. You've been warned."

"Goodbye Sapnap." George called, desperately trying to get Sapnap to leave and forget about the incident. Sapnap huffed angrily at his forced removal, but eventually said his goodbyes and left the call. "Ant! How could you not tell me he joined the call?"

"Well I thought you might yell at me like you did at Dream if I interrupted." George's ears tinged red with embarrassment. Was he really that bad? It seemed as if everyone was moving around him like he was an active bomb. He hated making his friends feel as if they can't say something, weary of him exploding.

"I'm sorry Ant. I don't feel like talking anymore, I think I need to just be alone in order to organize my thoughts." Ant seemed as if he wanted to say something more but ultimately gave into George's request and exited the call. George in turn powered off his computer, paranoid of others somehow hearing him. He paced to his full length mirror, looking into it as if it would give him answers. George really needed to stop asking inanimate objects for help. Taking in some quick breaths George pointed his finger at his reflection. "You will be fine, dumbass. Be a normal person for once in your life. It's just Dream. You've known him for forever, a tiny crush isn't going to change that. You. Will. Be. Fine." Not even believing his own words, George tore himself away from the mirror. It was November 19th and the dreaded day of George's flight was barreling toward him like a canon ball. Dream and Sapnap had been nothing but excited and discussing everything they would do. George did not share their excitement and found it hard to try and mimic it when in calls with them. George had thought the excitement of getting to finally see Dream would start to overcome his internally dread, but as the days went on it only got worse. His migraines were a constant reminder of just how much it stressed him out and they showed no sign of letting up. George's head no longer felt like his own. The familiar dense fog had replaced it and George had given up on trying to locate his actual head altogether.

George jumped, as he was pulled from his thoughts by his phone screaming to be answered. Scrambling to stop the noise, George hit answer as soon as he had the phone in his grasp.

"George! Two more days!"

George could hear a strange sound on Dream's end of the call. "What is that sound? Where are you?" George did not want to discuss anything about the trip. Dream knew he was hesitant about going to Florida and was slowly trying to weasel the reason why out of him.

"Oh...um I'm just at the beach, I didn't think you'd be able to hear it." George glanced at his alarm clock on his bedside table.

"You're at the beach?"

"Yeah."

"At four in the morning?" Dream went silent, leaving only the distorted sound of the ocean to play in George's ear.

"I couldn't sleep, I'm too excited to see you and Sapnap in a few days." Dream's voice sounded strained and George frowned at the obvious sign that Dream wasn't being completely honest. George stayed silent and waited to see if Dream would retract his statement and tell the truth, but he never did. "So George, how are you...you know, feeling?" George's eyes darted all around the room searching for an answer that wouldn't worry Dream.

"I'm...I'm good."

"George don't lie to me."

_So only you're allowed to lie._

George pushed away that thought and cleared his throat. "I don't know what to say Dream. I still feel like shit, is that what you want to hear?" George cringed at his venomous tone. He wasn't mad at Dream for asking how he was, he was actually happy that Dream even cared enough to pressure him to say how he truly felt. He was just frustrated that he couldn't tell Dream what was really bothering him. George knew Dream would give much better advice than Ant. But how could he ask Dream about Dream?

"George, I just want you to talk to me. Can I ask you a question? And will you answer it truthfully? Regardless if you think it will hurt my feelings. I want the honest to God truth. Why do you not want to come to Florida?" Dream's voice was barley above a whisper and his question was almost drowned out by the ocean waves crashing. George closed his eyes and took a long, shaky breath. He couldn't tell Dream the truth, no matter how much the guilt ate at him. But he could tell him some version of the truth.

"Dream, I'm still not...me. I feel so out of place in my own body and I don't want you to see me like this. It's embarrassing. Plus I don't think I'll be of much fun anyways, I'm only going to ruin the trip for you and Sapnap. It's been eating at me."

"George..." Dream's voice was soft and soothing, as if he were trying to calm a crying child. George knew Dream didn't mean it in a bad way, but it made him feel small and inferior. "Is it selfish of me to want you to come to Florida even more now?" George felt his cheeks tinge with heat.

"What? What does that even mean?" George tried to hide the shakiness in his voice, spewing the words as fast as he could.

"I want to be the one you lean on George. I want to be the one you go to whenever you have a problem. So if you were in Florida maybe you would come to me instead of Ant-" George's eyes widened.

"What did you just say? You don't want me going to Ant? How did you know that I was asking him for advice? Who told you that? What all did they tell you? Did they tell you what we've been talking about?" George felt his chest tighten, the feeling of panic being too familiar at this point. Was there a version of gay panic for straight people or did only the gays have to suffer this way? George didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about any of it. If Ant told Dream what they had been talking about, George would never show his face again. He would throw out his computer, change his number, and move to New Zealand. It was known to be a very safe country and George thought he would be okay with living there.

"Woah George I didn't know it was a secret. Sapnap just told me that you guys were talking about something and it seemed like you guys were working through something. I guess I got a little jealous that you trust Ant more than me." George's panic subsided and was left with guilt.

"Dream I don't trust Ant more than you, I just needed his advice on something."

"But what about me? I can give good advice...sometimes." George smiled, more and more Dream reminded George of a puppy. He probably would have fluffy hair like one too. George would get to see in only two days. He would finally get to see Dream. His voice was attractive enough, George knew Dream himself would be attractive, but maybe George would be biased since he was already so infatuated with him.

"Dream I...I love you."

The line was silent. No ocean. No wind. No sign of life on the other end. "Dream?" George lowered his phone from his ear to see Dream had hung up.

Dream had hung up.

Panic took over George's entire body. His head swirled and he felt as if he would faint. He stumbled forward, feeling for his bed. He used the side to lower himself to the ground, overcome from nausea and wanting to feel the solid ground beneath him. How could he be so stupid? He ruined everything. With three simple words, George's world crumbled around him. He couldn't go to Florida. He couldn't even speak to Dream again. Not that Dream even would _want_ to speak to George again. George could try and play it off as in a friendly way, but Dream would know. Dream always knew the truth. Dream surely heard the adoration entwinned in his words, knew how George really meant it. George felt as if he had been falling the past month and had just now hit the ground. But it was a pit, a pit too deep for George to crawl out of. Not even Ant's shitty advice could help him now. But it was worth a shot. With shaky hands George clicked on Ant's contact name and prayed to anyone listening for Ant to pick up.

"Hello?"

"I told him I loved him."

"You what?"

"I told Dream I loved him! God Ant, are you deaf?" George regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth and was quick to apologize. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm kind of losing my shit right now."

"Hey, hey calm down. It's alright. So you told Dream you loved him? Who cares? What did he say? Did he think you meant it in a 'I really care for you as a friend' way or a 'I have been madly in love with you for a while now' way?"

"He hung up."

Ant sucked in a quick breath. The line stayed silent and George wondered if he had been hung up on yet again. "He hung up?" Ant sounded sad as if his favorite sports team had lost. George opened his mouth to speak but instead took in a shaky breath. Tears dribbled over his lash line as the reality of what had happened truly sunk in.

"He hung up." George choked out, sobs threatening to overtake his body. George didn't want to break down like this in front of Ant and tried to hold it back as much as he could. "He hung up. He hung up. He hung up. I finally tell Dream that I love him and he hangs up on me. Oh my god I'm so embarrassed! He's probably so disgusted, he's probably never going to speak to me again. I thought worst case scenario he would laugh it off but this is SO much worse. Do you think he hates me Ant?" George was rambling now, all his thoughts tumbling out like vomit.

"George, slow down. Dream could never hate you. You're George. I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason he hung up, like maybe he lost service or maybe he fell asleep. I'm positive you are just over thinking it. How about you just go to bed and call him back in the morning. I'm sure you guys will easily work it out."

"But how can you be sure? What if this can't be fixed?" George's emotions showed clearly through his words, tears had begun to fall freely. Ant sighed and seemed to be debating with himself.

"Okay George listen, I'm going to tell you something that I probably shouldn't...but I think you should know."

"What? What are you talking about."

"Just listen to me George and do not tell a _soul_ what I am about to say. Okay?"

"Yes, fine. Okay." George didn't much care what unhelpful advice Ant was going to bestow on him and just wanted Ant to spit it out already.

"Okay...well a while back, and I'm talking way before you ever came to me, I was streaming and a lot of people were in the call. But that's not the point. The point is Dream was also in that call, but then he left for a bit, but he eventually came back. Then everyone started going to bed so I ended the stream but stayed in team speak and eventually it was just me and Dream left in the call and-"

"For Gods sake spit it out Ant!"

"Okay! Dream told me he was gay!"

George dropped the phone.


	10. Parades

George did not get a minute of sleep.

How could he?

Dream was gay? He had made Ant repeat himself over and over again, sure he had heard him wrong. But he hadn't and Ant's words were the same each time. Dream had told Ant that he was gay. George had told Ant he was gay. Poor Ant, forced to be the homosexuality guru he sucked at being.

Thoughts of Dream hating George were quickly replaced with hopeful possibilities. If Dream was gay did that mean George had a chance? Maybe if George told Dream that he was gay as well, Dream would confess his love for him. George knew that was a bit of a long shot, but at least he knew Dream would accept George for who he was. And if Dream could accept him, then he could accept himself.

_Well, with time_. George thought. He still felt a sliver of embarrassment, unsure if his friends would truly be comfortable with it. But Dream would. If Dream was the only friend George had left after telling the world who he was, George wouldn't mind. All he really needed was Dream. But he still hadn't talked to Dream since he hung up on George.

George had spent all night and half the day waiting for Dream to call him back. Tell him it was all a mistake, tell him he was in love with him as well. The phone never rang.

George distracted himself anyway he could. Packing and unpacking his luggage, trying on each piece of clothing he was choosing to take and deciding if he really wanted to bring it or not. He read books he couldn't care less about, scribbled random doodles in a notebook, and even decluttered his room. The hours seemed to drag on and George was getting frustrated. Why hadn't Dream called? What if he wasn't going to call? George was going to Florida the next day, what if Dream didn't pick him up from the airport and George was left stranded in Florida. As if hearing his thoughts, his phone finally rang, ending George's agony. George held the phone in his hand, letting it ring four times before finally answering. "Hello?" George cursed his voice, as it wobbled when he spoke. He closed his eyes and waited for Dream's voice to finally return to him.

"George? Hey, listen sorry about last night, my phone died and by the time I got home I figured you were asleep. Have you finished packing?"

George was speechless. Dream was acting as if George hadn't confessed his undying love for him less than twenty four hours ago. George was confused and slightly hurt. "Dream what was the last thing you heard before your phone died?"

"Umm...I had just said that I could give you good advice too. Then you went silent and I thought you were mad at me. I called your name like five times before I realized my phone was dead." Dream chuckled and George felt the weight of the world lift from his shoulders. Dream hadn't heard him. There was still hope. George felt like he could run a marathon.

"Hey lets all stream one last time before the trip."

"Okay, sure. Sounds good." Dream sounded confused but George didn't care. The world wasn't as cruel as he had thought. Life was still good. Dream texted Sapnap and within five minutes they were all together in discord, excitingly discussing the trip. Even George was getting excited. Dream was gay. Anything was possible. As George was about to start his stream a sudden wave of confidence hit him. What did George have to lose? Well a lot, but George ignored that thought.

"Hey guys, can I tell you something?"

"Of course Georgie, you can tell us anything. Unless you are going to tell us that you changed your mind about Florida cause it's too late for that now and we won't accept it." Sapnap threatened. George took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The other two stayed silent, riddled with curiosity.

"Well I don't really know how to say this except to just...say it. So here goes...I'm...gay." George squeezed his eyes shut tighter, as if it were a form of defense.

"Coolio." Sapnap chimed.

"Yeah congrats George." Dream added, both seemingly unimpressed.

"What? That's it?" George was confused, had they not heard him?

"Well what do you want Gogy? A parade? They have them all the time, ask Eret to take you, I'm sure he'd be happy to." Sapnap's tone lacked even an ounce of mockery. He didn't think George any differently, he was still his friend but his lack of interest bewildered George. "So are we starting this stream or-"

"Thank you Nick."

"Woah, pulling the real name are we? I don't really know what you're thanking me for but of course Georgie, you like my brother, regardless if you dig dicks instead of tits."

George's smile dropped into a frown of annoyance while Dream busted out laughing. "Way to ruin a nice moment, Sapnap."

"Of course, that's what I'm here for."

George finally started his stream, welcoming the incoming viewers, despite a nagging thought. Why didn't Dream come out as well? Maybe he didn't want to seem like he was trying to take the attention from George, well what attention there was. Or maybe he had changed his mind since telling Ant. The latter made George's heart sink. Maybe there wasn't hope for George after all.

"I can't believe this time tomorrow, I'll get to see you guys in person." Dream's ecstatic statement pulled George from his sad thoughts.

"I know, I finally get to see what you look like, see if you lied about your height."

Dream scoffed in fake offense. "I have not lied about my height, you'll see tomorrow when I tower over you like the child you are." George threw his head back in laughter, not caring that the camera was on him.

"Child? I'm older than you!"

"You sure don't act like it." Dream shot back.

"Can you guys stop flirting for like five minutes and pay attention to me instead?" Sapnap whined.

The rest of the stream went by in a blur. George couldn't seem to focus and blamed it on being excited for tomorrow, but he was actually still wondering why Dream hadn't said anything. Obviously it wasn't like Dream had to tell George if he didn't want to, but George still felt a bit hurt Dream had told Ant and not him. Although he had no room to talk seeing as he had done the same thing. Still George took a huge leap of faith coming out. Did Dream not trust him to take the same leap? "Alright guys I got to go to bed or I'll miss my flight tomorrow. Thanks for watching, I hope you guys will still be here when I get back! Bye!" George waved at the camera and turned off his stream in a rush.

"God, was someone holding a gun to your head while you were streaming George?" Sapnap teased. George swung his chair back and forth nervously.

"No, I just was distracted. I'm nervous for tomorrow. I've never flown on a plane before, what if I'm scared of them and don't even know it?"

"Relax Georgie, you will be just fine. Don't be a little bitch baby."

George scoffed and turned his chair to face his wall. His suitcase now leaned against it, the only true sign that he was going to Florida tomorrow. George wondered if he should have waited until he saw Dream and Sapnap in person to tell them, but knew he wouldn't have had the confidence. He knew they weren't going to treat him any differently, but he still worried that he might make them uncomfortable.

"Alright I'm going to go to sleep, or else I really won't catch my flight. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow, _in person_."

"Goodnight Gogy, dream of me." Sapnap cooed into George's headset. Shaking his head, George said goodnight and left the call, knowing Dream would want a separate goodnight. When had it become routine for them to call every night before bed? As if it were linked telepathically to George's brain, his phone rang, lit up with Dream's name.

"Are you excited to see me tomorrow?" George teased walking over to his bed and promptly collapsing onto it.

"Ecstatic."

"You sound it."

Dream chuckled and took a deep breath. "Hey...George...I just wanted to let you know, me and Sapnap are really happy for you. I know we didn't seem it but we are. Honestly." Dream sounded... uncomfortable? Why was he uncomfortable? Did Ant lie to him just to make him feel better? Surely Dream wouldn't be uncomfortable with George being gay when he was also gay. George didn't understand.

"Thanks, Dream. I didn't even think I would tell you guys this soon. I've kind of been having a hard time accepting it." George let his voice drop to a whisper, as if it would soften the blow of the words.

"How did you...know?" Dream's own voice was a whisper to match George's.

George blinked repeatedly, trying to organize his thoughts. "Well I guess I've always really known. I just never wanted to admit it."

"I get that."

Both boys went silent, as if neither wanted to acknowledge the words just said. Dream cleared his throat and yawned forcefully. "Its late we should probably both head to bed." George nodded then realized Dream couldn't see him.

"Yeah, I'm really tired."

The call went silent again, but the air felt heavy. George wanted the conversation to be over, both parties were uncomfortable. "Alright George, I'll see you tomorrow. Heh, pretty crazy to think about. Goodnight George...I-um I love you. I hope its not weird now to say that." Dream was extremely uncomfortable, it showed clearly in his voice. George felt a sting in his chest, slightly hurt by Dreams sudden lack of confidence in speaking to George. It seemed things actually were different.

"It's not weird...goodnight Dream. I'll see you tomorrow."

George plugged in his phone and set his alarm clock, despite knowing he would be having another sleepless night, plagued with anxiety about the day that laid ahead of him.

When his alarm did go off, he was surprised to find he had dozed off sometime in the night. He groaned and slid off his bed lazily. Maybe Dream was right about him being a child. As he got ready, time seemed to be moving at an extremely slow rate. He was ready a full half an hour before he had to leave and sat on his bed awkwardly. He checked the time. It would be three in the morning in Florida. George had a feeling Dream would be awake but decided against messaging him. It seemed as if Dream never slept and George wondered if he would sleep much while him and Sapnap were there. George knew for certain that it would take him at least a week to get accustomed to the time zone change and hoped Dream and Sapnap wouldn't be too bothered by George possibly needing frequent naps.

That is if George could get any sleep while Dream was so close.


	11. Airplane Cuddles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you to everyone whose read my story and left kudos it means a lot! I wasn’t actually planning on finishing this after I hit a bit of a slump but since people seem to enjoy it and I already planned out the entire story I figured I might as well. Again thank you for the support! <3

George learned he hated planes.

They were cramped, hot, and terrifying. Not to mention George was stuck in the miserable contraption for ten whole hours. He didn't know if he would make it. 

He had been excited at the gate, his excitement barley diminishing as he stepped onto the death trap, despite noticing how little personal space everyone got. His excitement really plummeted when he got to his seat and found Dream had booked him a window seat. Obviously he had done so thinking George would like to look out the window, but he had failed to remember that George had one of the weakest bladders known to man. He cringed at the realization that he would have to squeeze past his seat mates an annoying amount of times. He decided to try and appreciate the kind gesture from Dream and took his seat with a smile. He had noticed earlier that no one on the plane had been smiling when he first entered and George was beginning to understand why. George sent one last message to Dream, letting him know that he was on the plane about to take off. George locked his phone and glanced around the plane.

Each row had three seats, and each seat seemed to have someone in it. George glanced at his own row. A seemingly nice older lady, possibly in her forties, sat in the aisle seat but the middle seat remained empty. George suddenly was hopeful that it would stay empty and George would have a bit more personal breathing room. This hope was quickly crushed as a young man came barreling towards George's row. He was incredibly tall and extremely lanky. He moved as if his limbs were new to him and he was still trying to figure out how they worked. George thought there was no way he would be able to cramp his long limbs into his small seat. George was proven right as the man stuffed his carry on under the seat in front of him and began to finagle his limbs into his seat. Unfortunately for George, this meant taken some of George's precious leg room, even though he had none to spare. He shifted uncomfortably toward the window, trying to separate himself from the man as much as possible. The man finally situated himself and sighed in a satisfied manner. This made George extremely annoyed and he gave the man a rude side eye. The man somehow took this as an invitation to spark up conversation with George. 

"This is my first time on a plane," the man chuckled sheepishly and George groaned internally, "I'm Ian." The man, or Ian as George unwillingly learned, twisted his arm in a position for George to shake his hand. George said nothing but shook Ian's hand, not wanting to make an enemy of his row mate for when he would ultimately have to push past him and use the restroom. George tried not to show his disgust as he took Ian's hand, finding it was slick with sweat and unnaturally warm. "So what's your name?"

George hesitated before decided it was one harmless question and he would only have to put up with this man for one flight, one agonizing ten hour long flight. "George." He answered quietly trying to show he wanted the conversation to stop before it could even start. 

"This your first time flying?"

"Yes."

"Why are you going to Florida? Do you have family there? My Aunt and Uncle moved to Florida from Leicester and I haven't seen them in years. This is my first time visiting and I'm staying for a whole month. How long are you staying in Florida? Are you also staying for a month?"

George stared back at him blankly, debating ignoring him and possibly not being able to squeeze past him to go to the bathroom due to awkwardness, as if he would be able to get past Ian's unnaturally long limbs. "I'm going to visit a friend."

"A friend? How do you know someone from Florida? Are they originally from England? Is it a girl? Do you have a girlfriend in Florida? Are you going to visit your girlfriend?" Ian talked so fast that spit built up on the sides of his mouth. George couldn't help but stare at it and wished he had never said yes to coming to Florida in the first place. George ran through ideas to get this Ian character to leave him alone and settled on trying to shock him into silence.

"No, I'm going to see my boyfriend." 

This immediately backfired as Ian broke into a surprised smile, "You're gay? So am I!" Ian yelled causing George to wince and everyone in the nearby vicinity to turn to the two boys. George felt his face grow warm and was sure his entire face must be red. 

"Thank you for letting the whole plane know." George spat and turned his head completely to the window, hoping Ian would get the memo. He did not.

"Sorry, I didn't realize how quiet this plane was. Everyone on here sure is quiet, I wonder why. Are you supposed to be quiet on a plane? Is there plane etiquette? No one told me there was. I wonder if they will tell us along with the safety presentation. I wonder when they will start the safety presentation. Did you know you're more likely to die in a car crash than an airplane crash. I guess that has to do with probability though. I mean you drive in a car everyday and an airplane every once in a while. That is unless you have to travel a lot then you take an airplane more often, but using that logic that means you would have to take cars more too. Unless you're a pilot or a flight attendant, then you're like always in a plane. I wonder if any of the flight attendants on this plane have been in a plane crash. I feel like if you were to survive a plane crash you wouldn't want to go on another plane again. It's that PTSD thing. You know I think I have PTSD from getting bit by a dog when I was younger cause now when I pet a dog I think what if it bites me? It effects me a lot."

As if a gift from the Heavens, the flight attendants began their safety presentation grabbing Ian's attention instantly. George took the opportunity to put his headphones in and blast his music at full volume. He felt bad that others around him might be able to hear the music but was desperate to drown out Ian's insistent rambling. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cool window. His migraines were as frequent as ever but had started to become only a dull ache, just enough to remind him of all his worries. Soon George felt the plane begin to move forward signaling their departure. He suddenly became aware at just how nervous he was. He opened his eyes slightly to peek out the window. As the plane began to build speed, the world outside became a blur. George shifted back as the plane ascended up into the air before leveling out. He let out a breath he had been holding and closed his eyes again. There was absolutely no going back now. George was on his way to see Dream whether he liked it or not. 

~~~

Sleeping on a plane was harder than George thought. Having Ian's sprawled out limbs constantly touching him was George's main issue, that is, until he experienced turbulence for the first time.

He had immediately thought the plane was going down. Panicking, he ripped his headphones from his ears and looked around. No was else was freaking out. Even Ian was completely calm as he flipped through the plane's inflight magazine. George almost asked Ian what was happening before the pilot came over the intercom and lazily addressed it as turbulence. George was shocked at how often the turbulence seemed to happen and felt each time that the metal deathtrap had finally decided to follow the laws of gravity and drop everyone to their death. Yet somehow the plane flew on. After a while George relaxed his shoulders, too tired to be so anxious. He soon fell into a light sleep, not exactly awake, but not completely asleep either. He was quickly awoken to a foreign entity resting on his shoulder. George shot open his eyes, horrified to find that Ian was resting his head on George's shoulder. His mouth was open and the threat of drool made George want to scream. He was bewildered by this cruel cliché and wondered, why him. George tried lightly shoving Ian's head off of him but found it to be heavier than he anticipated. With more force, George managed to get his head to loll to the other side. George sighed in relief and shrunk as far away from him as he could. This proved to be pointless as George found Ian cuddled against his shoulder not even five minutes later. This time when George tried to shove him off, Ian subconsciously reacted by latching onto George's arm. George instantly reacted by shaking Ian awake, refusing to let this continue. 

"What? What? Are we here already?" Ian mumbled sleepily. 

"No. You fell asleep on me." George spat.

"Oh...okay?" 

"Don't let it happen again." 

Ian blinked confusedly at George's new venomous tone and nodded silently. George huffed angrily in response and turned away to try and sleep again. He knew Ian meant no harm by it but couldn't help getting angry at him, especially after annoying George practically the whole flight. George was sick of being on the plane and was getting irritated. Why did Dream have to live so far? George soon fell into yet another sorry excuse for sleep, unaware of how close to Florida he was getting.

~~~

George groaned as he was gently shook awake. 

"Hey pal, we are about to land."

"What?" George grumbled and rubbed his tired eyes. Blinking to chase away the sleep George looked around. Everyone was still seated and the seatbelt sign shined brightly over head. George glanced out the window to see a large city beneath them getting closer and closer. His heart dropped to his stomach. He was here. He was in Florida. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and gripped the armrest that Ian had claimed earlier yet now seemed to forget about. He stared out the window as the city of Orlando came closer and closer. In no time at all they arrived at the airport and prepared for landing. George had not expected it to be much different from the initial take off and was sorely mistaken. As the plane's wheels touched the ground, George's entire body shot forward. He gripped the armrest in order to stable himself but quickly let go when Ian had the same idea and had latched onto George's wrist. The plane eventually slowed down and the shockingly awful landing was over. They lazily drove into the correct gate and the seatbelt sign blinked off. Immediately people rose from their seats desperate to escape the aircraft first. George remained in place and took out his phone. The time automatically switched to the new time zone and read 2:42 p.m. George quickly sent the message of his arrival and shoved his phone back in his pocket. George was impatient to get off the plane but desperate to delay his near future. He had thought about this moment a thousand times before. Thought about how Dream would look, how he would smile, if he would hug George immediately upon seeing him. His nervousness was starting to get replaced with excitement as he stood to exit the plane. He snatched his carry on bag, which was just a plain black backpack and threw it over his shoulders. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket as he entered the aisle and began moving forward toward the doors. Digging it out of his pocket, a smile erupted on his face.

**Dream: FINALLY !!!**

**Dream: I'm at baggage claim see you soon :)**

George glanced up from his phone to see he had arrived at the doors. He began to pick up his pace as he left his gate and made his way to baggage claim. This was it. George was about to be face to face with his bestfriend, the one he was in love with. This moment was going to change everything. 

Dizzy with anxiety, George arrived at baggage claim and looked around. He then realized he had no clue who to look for. Anybody at baggage claim could have been Dream and he would have no idea. He looked at any guy over 6 foot in hopes of seeing some sort of recognition on their face but saw none. As George began to turn to sweep all sides of him he was suddenly engulfed by someone into a sort of "bear hug". The air shot out of George's lungs and he was paralyzed.

"George! You're really here! I can't believe it!" His voice was so familiar, so welcoming. It sounded like home.

George regained control of his limbs and instinctually wrapped his arms around the large mans waist. After a long squeeze the man released him and stepped back. 

George felt lightheaded as he stared into the man's shining eyes. The man stared back at him sheepishly, suddenly becoming shy. "Well...this is me...that sounded dumb...sorry." He chuckled. George tried to fight the lump in his throat and blinked rapidly to see if the man's appearance would change. It didn't.

The man standing before him was Dream.

And he was _painfully_ gorgeous.


	12. Alone Together

"George? Geoooorge?"

George blinked rapidly, unaware of how long he had been staring, mouth gaped open. "Yes? Sorry, sorry."

"You okay? Not what you...expected?" Dream looked hurt but George was too fascinated by his facial expressions to care. It was strange finally seeing the familiar voice paired with a breathtaking face. 

"No...I didn't think you'd be so...pretty."

Dream laughed and George instantly regretted his words. His ears tinged red and he finally tore his gaze away from the beautiful man. "Aw Georgie, you think I'm pretty? Come on, we both know you're the pretty one." George looked anywhere but at Dream suddenly missing the safety of England. 

"Right sorry, no flirty jokes. Come on grab your luggage, we got to go pick up Sapnap." George followed Dream over to his luggage and through the entire airport, stuck directly behind him like a little kid. Dream was his bestfriend, yet George felt as if he wasn't allowed to walk next to someone so perfect. Dream noticed the constant lagging and even tried to slow down thinking his longer legs were the problem but George still refused to stand next to him. Dream cleared his throat as they reached a new gate. "Sapnap should be here any minute." George nodded silently and was extremely aware of the awkward tension that hung in the air. He looked around the airport and suddenly remembered that he had not used the restroom once during his ten hour flight. He had been too nervous to even stand in case of turbulence, not to mention he did not want to interact with Ian anymore than he had too. George spotted the bathroom and hurriedly told Dream where he was going, the need to pee becoming apparent.

As he returned to Dream he saw him running his hands through his hair, talking to someone on the phone. George had guessed his hair almost perfectly. It was sort of grown out reaching only to his ear lobes. It was a gorgeous honey blonde and looked as soft as a puppies. It seemed as if he didn't do anything with it and let it flow naturally. After running his hand through it, it flopped back into place perfectly. George approached the beautiful man right as he turned. He looked stressed. 

"Yeah...alright...I just don't see why you couldn't have told me sooner...I get that but even a simple text would have been nice...yeah well I think George is going to be pretty upset...yeah exactly." 

George froze in place. Why was he going to be upset? Who was Dream on the phone with? And what was taking Sapnap so long, people had already been filing out of the gate when George had gone to the restroom.

"Okay well I'm glad it's not too serious...alright love you man see you in a week I guess...bye." Dream sighed in frustration and hung up the phone, shoving it into his pocket. "So Sapnap isn't coming."

"What?" George practically yelled and looked around, embarrassed at the heads turning toward them. "What do you mean he isn't coming? This is a joke right?"

"No George it's not a joke. His mom got into a car accident right before the flight. She's okay but she broke two ribs and has a mild concussion. He doesn't want to leave her alone when she has a concussion so he's going to take care of her for the next week. He's going to fly out on the 5th instead. Is that alright?" Dream looked stressed and it didn't seem to go with his perfectly chiseled features. George bit the inside of his cheek, trying to conceal his panic. He couldn't be alone with Dream for a whole week! He wouldn't survive, Sapnap was supposed to be his safety net. He should just tell Dream he wanted to go home. Tell him he changed his mind and didn't feel good, anything to escape from solitary with Dream.

"Yeah of course it's alright." George was getting pretty sick of his cowardliness. Dream was his bestfriend, he should be able to tell him how he's feeling. "It's only a week."

Dream smiled in relief causing George's stomach to erupt in butterflies. "Okay great, then lets head home." Dream grabbed George's luggage and began to stride away causing George to have to jog to catch up. They accidently fell into step and George instinctively fell behind. "Walk beside me George, I don't bite I swear. I mean unless you're into that kind of thing." Dream chuckled at his own joke and George nudged him playfully, finally walking alongside the tall boy.

"Watch it, you promised, on your honor, that you wouldn't make flirty jokes." 

Dream seemed to contemplate this before breaking into a crooked smile. "Well what if I'm not joking then."

George tore his eyes away from the other boy and stayed silent. The memory of Dream's text message all those nights ago clouded his mind. It was cruel of Dream to say these things to George, especially knowing that he was gay. As they neared the exit George heard his name called by an annoyingly familiar voice. Dream whipped around, most likely confused at who in Florida George knew other than him. George inwardly groaned as he turned to face Ian. "George! I lost you after we got off the plane, I wanted to thank you for being so patient with me. I know I can be a bit annoying sometimes." Ian smiled sadly and George felt a ping of sympathy for him. 

"It's fine really-"

"Oh is this your boyfriend? It's so nice to meet you I'm Ian. I sat next to George on the plane, he told me all about you." George had never wanted to attack someone so badly in his life. Dream's eyebrows shot up but he smiled at the lanky boy who was a bit taller than him but somehow seemed less significant. 

"Right...I'm Clay. Thank you for taking such good care of him." Dream cooed throwing his arm around George's shoulders and pulling him in. George stared like a deer in headlights. 

"Oh no he took care of me really. I was really nervous about flying for the first time and George let me talk his ear off to get my nerves out. I even fell asleep on his shoulder TWICE and when we were landing and the plane shot forward he let me grab his wrist for support. I hope you aren't mad about that. I may be gay too but I would never disrespect someone's relationship like that." Ian pulled a face that George guessed was supposed to be his serious face but he just looked constipated. Dream chuckled smoothly and ran his hand through George's hair, sending him in full malfunction mode. 

"Don't worry about it. Say, what all did Georgie tell you about me?" Dream's tone must have seemed lighthearted to the other boy but sounded teasing to George. He knew it was him that Dream was teasing. 

"Oh not much honestly, he just said he was coming to Florida to see his boyfriend. Guess I exaggerated a bit. Sorry."

"Ah don't be...it was nice to meet you Ian, we're going to be heading home now." Dream smiled sweetly and laid his head on top of George's. 

"Nice to meet you too Clay, and thanks again George! Bye!" With that the lanky boy walked away and George broke from Dream's grasp. 

"Okay listen he wouldn't stop asking me questions and his legs were all up in my personal bubble and I just wanted him to stop talking to me so I thought if I told him that I was gay he would get all freaked out and back down but then he also turned out to be gay which is such annoying irony and I just thought it wouldn't matter if he didn't know the truth because I didn't think I'd ever see him again." George only took a breath after finishing his explanation. Dream sat patiently and listened and only smiled in response when George finished. 

"Calm down George, I'm not mad." He laughed and smoothly walked away. "Come on lets go home, I bet you didn't get much sleep on the plane, what with telling everyone about your boyfriend."

George slapped his arm in protest and grumbled a screw you. Dream only laughed harder. George then began to tell Dream all about his flight from Ian's rambling, to the terrifying turbulence, to Ian cuddling up with him. Dream listened intently and laughed without a care in the world. They soon got over their initial awkwardness and fell easily into step with their usually friendly banter. George began to think that he would actually be able to survive this week. 

"Alright here it is. My Ferrari." Dream joked sarcastically, gesturing to a charcoal grey 2008 Honda Accord. He popped the trunk open and stuffed George's suitcase into it then made his way to the drivers seat, confusing George for a second before he remembered the difference in American and European cars. George rushed to get into the car, not wanting to make Dream wait. The inside was insanely clean and looked as if no one had ever driven it and smelled faintly of strawberries. 

"It's nice, cleaner than I thought it'd be." George laughed sinking into the leather seats. 

Dream feigned hurt placing his hand dramatically over his heart. "What is that supposed to mean? I am a very cleanly person. Seriously don't leave trash around the house or I just might deck you." 

George scoffed and buckled himself in. Suddenly a hand appeared in the corner of his eye. He turned to see Dream had his hand on the back of George's seat and turned slightly as he backed out of the parking spot. He mumbled an apology under his breath and George tore his eyes away immediately. It was the most harmless of motions yet caused George's heart to beat a mile a minute and cause a warm sensation in his stomach. He cleared his throat nervously and stared out the window, positive his entire face was red. Dream didn't seem to notice and removed his arm only to rest it lazily on the center console. George forced himself to focus on the scenery outside despite his overwhelming urge to finally get a good look at Dream's perfectly sculpted face.

"Is it cool if I play music? I don't like when it's too quiet." Dream's voice dragged George away from his thoughts bringing his eyes with him. 

"Oh yeah, sure." As Dream turned his attention to the radio, George took the opportunity to get a good look at him. His eyelashes were long and wispy and lined his eyes perfectly, which where blindingly light. He was honest about the freckles that dotted his nose and his cheeks lightly, softening his otherwise sharp features. The sharpest being his jawline which looked as if it would cut George if he touched it. George suddenly had the urge to test his theory and tore his gaze away before his limbs betrayed him. The car was suddenly filled with the soft low voice of a man. George had never heard the song before but Dream seemed to be mouthing the words, even drumming his thumb against the steering wheel. George fought a giggle but lost and Dream glanced at him, smiling slightly. His natural confidence took over and he began to sing along. George turned away as Dream's low raspy voice began to invade his ears. He leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes. Dream sang on.

_Have I found you?_

_Flightless bird, jealous, weeping_

_Or lost you?_

_American Mouth_

_Big bill looming..._

George was gently shaken awake as a low familiar voice called his name. He lazily opened his eyes to what had to be an angel. George blinked and sat up suddenly becoming aware of his surroundings. He was in Dream's car. The angel was Dream. Looking up he saw a decently large house. "You can go back to sleep inside." Dream called from behind the car presumably grabbing George's luggage. George nodded despite Dream not being able to see him and slid out of the car. He trudged behind Dream and into the house. They were instantly ambushed by Patches and Dream scooped her up into his arms. George instantly smelt the soft strawberry scent again from seemingly everywhere. George looked around the house. The lights were off but he could still see there was little to be seen in the decoration department. His living room had a tan leather sofa and a white arm chair. A decent sized tv faced them with a glass coffee table to separate them. Heavy black curtains hung open allow the afternoon sun to drift into the room. Dream made his way toward a flight of stairs and George followed suit. the upstairs had a large landing with three doors. Dream opened the one to the far right and set George's suitcase down. The room had nothing but a bed with a white comforter and dark blue pillows and a mahogany dresser pushed to the corner. Without much thought, George collapsed down onto the bed and closed his eyes. He heard Dream chuckle before shutting the door and leaving George to finally get some much needed sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were wondering the song Dream was singing is called “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” by Iron and Wire. It’s a really good song and was actually in Twilight I highly recommend it. Also I know Dream doesn’t have a car but I gave him a car anyway. Also I don’t know cars so if it’s a crappy car sorry but i was listening to a song that talked about a Honda Accord so I just used that.


	13. Spooked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING   
> slight NSFW   
> I’ve been thinking about it more and have decided that I’m going to include NSFW but not in an extremely graphic way. I hope you guys understand and continue to support this work! <3

George awoke to a strange dark room. Stretching his cramped muscles, he sat up and forced his eyes to focus. From somewhere outside the room he heard the faint sound of a TV and slid out of bed to follow it. He rubbed his eyes as he slowly made his way down the stairs and into the living room. The TV played a football game but other than that the house was silent. Patches seemed to notice George's presence and appeared from the other side of the couch to slink herself around his legs. Suddenly a dark figure sat up from the couch and looked at George. "Sorry did I wake you up?" His voice was low and raspy as if he himself had just woken up. It caused George's stomach to do backflips. He ran his hand through his hair and walked to the couch to sit next to Dream. He had been sprawled out on the sofa and whipped his legs away for George to sit.

"No you're fine, that's probably the best I've slept in a while actually." George chuckled and sank as far as he could into the cool leather sofa. Dream nodded silently and sat up to move closer to George. They stared blankly at the TV, George's mind running a million miles a minute, thankful Dream wasn't some mind reader. He could feel the heat radiating off of Dream even from a few inches away. George became acutely aware of how cold he was. He had taken his hoodie off sometime during his slumber and felt the hairs on his arms rise, whether from being cold or from Dream being so near he couldn't tell. Dream sighed and stretched his long, surprisingly muscular arms before setting them over the back of the couch. The heat radiating off of him increased and so did the heat in George's face. George sat rigid scared to move incase of touching Dream. After a few minutes Dream pulled his arms away and rubbed his right shoulder absentmindedly, a small grimace on his face. "You okay?" George's voice was barley above a whisper yet he didn't know why.

Dream nodded releasing his hold on his shoulder and sinking back into the couch. "Yeah my backs just been hurting a bit lately cause I keep falling asleep on the couch, nothing serious."

"Are you sure? Is there something I can do?" George knew there wasn't but still wanted to seem helpful. Dream just chuckled and closed his eyes.

"No I don't thinks so. I mean unless you want to give me a back massage."

George felt the butterflies return to his stomach again and swallowed nervously. "I mean...I can."

Dream smiled and opened his eyes, turning his head to face George. "That's nice of you Georgie but you're a guest not my personal masseuse." George fought a smile debating his next sentence. 

"You know a masseuse is actually used in terms of a woman right? Are you calling me a woman Dream?" Dream wheezed slightly, sitting up. He ran his hands through his hair as he shook his head. 

"No George I am not calling you a woman, though I do doubt you're strong enough to actually apply enough pressure. Those...massage therapist have strong hands."

George scoffed in fake annoyance. "Oh what ever lay on your stomach I'll show you." 

Dream chuckled and held his hands up in defeat. George stood up and waited as Dream situated himself on his stomach using his arms as a pillow. George suddenly realized he had no way to go about this. It would be awkward if he stood and did it but it would be even more awkward if he tried to sit on Dream. George was about to ask what to do before Dream spoke up. "Just sit on my back I don't really care, you don't look too heavy." George shook his head at Dream's last comment. He nervously sat on Dream's lower back and situated himself as quickly as he could. His heart rate began to pick up as he realized just what he was doing. He was sitting on Dream. He was about to give Dream a massage. This was weird. He wondered if Dream thought George was the weird one for offering. Dream snapped him out of his thoughts by shifting slightly. George watched his back muscles move underneath his plain white t-shirt. With a shaky breath, George placed his hands on Dream's back and began working the muscles. Surprisingly this was not George's first time giving a massage, remembering when he was a kid and his mother would come home from a long shift at work and ask George if he would give her one. 

Dream groaned underneath George causing him to freeze. "Too hard?" 

Dream shook his head no but gave no explanation. George swallowed nervously and continued. He focused mainly on Dream's shoulders seeing as that was what Dream was rubbing before. "Lower." Dream commanded. George could hear his heartbeat in his ears and worried that Dream might be able to hear it too. He shakily moved lower earning another low groan from Dream. George felt as if he couldn't breath now. He fought through and tried distracting himself by listening to the tv still quietly playing, but George's heartbeat was too loud. He released a shaky breath.

"Lower."

George froze. He couldn't move lower because of where he was sitting. He waited a second to see if Dream would give him directions but when he didn't George decided to just figure it out himself. He scooted back as much as he could, catching Dream's shirt underneath him in the process. George tugged it free causing it to accidently ride up, exposing his lower back. George felt light headed as he nervously pulled it back down. He felt Dream take a quick breath underneath him. Right as George was about to begin the massage again, Dream reached back and pulled his shirt completely up. "Just move it if it's getting in your way." Dream muttered. George was no longer breathing. Dream's exposed, surprisingly tan back sat underneath him. George knew his hands were shaking and prayed Dream wouldn't notice. His skin was hot to the touch and incredibly soft. George ran his hands over it softly completely forgetting about the massage. 

Dream's breathing hitched. 

The small indication of pleasure caused George's chest to explode and he grew hungry for more. More of Dream. He ran his shaky hands over Dream's back venturing more and more to his sides. Dream lifted himself up slightly as if inviting George, and he didn't hesitate to accept. He gently ran his hands past his sides and to his stomach. Running them up his chest, he ever so slowly moved them lower. 

Lower.

Lower.

George's right hand ran along the hem of Dream's grey sweatpants. 

Dream suddenly grabbed George's arm and flipped him underneath him in one quick motion. Dream searched his eyes and opened his mouth to speak. George cut him off by pushing him backwards. Dream looked at him, confused. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm just...tired and I-I...I didn't realize what I was doing. Please, can we just pretend this didn't happen? I'm truly sorry." George stumbled through his sentence looking everywhere expect at Dream. George was mortified. What was he thinking? He just felt up his bestfriend. His bestfriend that knows he's gay. He wanted to curl up and die. He looked down at his hands that were nervously twitching in his lap. His eyes widened at the sight before him.

_No_. 

Dream opened his mouth to respond but George shot up from the couch and practically ran out of the room, shouting a goodnight as he left. George bolted up the stairs and all but crashed into his temporary bedroom's door. He threw it open and shut it with force. He slid down the door until he hit the floor. 

Dream saw, he had to have. 

It was extremely obvious through George's loose sweatpants he wore and even if he didn't see it, George was pressed against his back so he probably felt-

George slapped his hand over his mouth and fought the urge to scream. 

He got a boner in front of his bestfriend. 

George groaned and curled into a ball on the floor. His life was over. His cruel, cruel life. He knew New Zealand was the only option and wondered if there was a flight there that could take him within the next couple of hours. He would have to leave his room to get to said flight though and there was no way he could ever leave the room again. He would live out the rest of his few meaningless days in there, eventually dying from starvation. George froze as he heard heavy steps coming up the stairs. George held his breath and waited for them to pass, praying they wouldn't stop at his door. Thankfully they didn't and instead went to another door. George heard it open and released his breath. 

"Goodnight I guess...I'm...um...glad you're here George. Really."

George listened to the door shut softly. He was...glad he was here? That didn't seem right to George. Dream should have been mad. He should have been...disgusted. He should have been kicking George out of the house for being a gross pervert. Dream was too nice, George decided. That had to have been it. 

But no matter how nice Dream was there was still no way George would be able to show his face again. He cursed Sapnap for being such a good son and taking care of his mom, instead of taking care of George. He thought about calling Sapnap and begging him to come sooner, preferable the next day but knew Sapnap would ask him why and there was no way George was going to tell him what happened. But there was someone he could tell. It was only 7 p.m. but didn't know how late it was for Ant. He called him anyway.

"George? Aren't you in Florida?"

"Yes and that's why I'm calling Ant. I messed up...badly." 

"What did you do George?" George heard rustling on Ant's end. George took a deep breath.

"Okay so we were just sitting on the couch and his back was hurting and one thing led to another and I was giving him a massage, and yes I know that was dumb of me but that's not that point. Somehow I started to...feel him up. Then my hands were on his chest and I moved them down and eventually they were at his waistband, and then he freaked out, obviously, and I just apologized profusely and ran out of the room." George squeezed his eyes shut, dreading telling Ant the worst part. 

"George...that's not that bad-"

"Haha yeah expect that's not the bad part. I...um...oh my god this is so embarrassing I can't believe I'm telling you this. I...got a boner." George waited for Ant to respond but he never did. "Ant?"

"Yeah...I...wow that is bad."

"Ant!"

"I'm sorry! I don't know what to tell you George." 

George groaned and flopped face down onto the bed. His life really was over. He could see no way to come back from this. The first night and he already fucked up. He wouldn't be surprised if Dream was booking him a ticket back right then and there, and he slightly hoped he would. But he also didn't want to leave. He finally got to see his bestfriend. They had yet to even do anything and enjoy the trip, he was desperate to spend more time with Dream. Yet now that seemed nearly impossible. There was no way Dream would want to hang out with George now. 

"Okay George listen." George jumped at Ant's voice, forgetting he was on the phone. "Tell me exactly, and I mean _exactly_ how Dream reacted. Every detail you can remember."

George rolled his eyes. He reacted badly George knew that much, but he indulged Ant anyway. "Okay so I...you know and as soon as I did he grabbed my other arm and flipped me underneath him, which like knocked the breath out of me which was also pretty embarrassing. Then he looked at me and he was about to say something but I freaked out and shoved him off me and began apologizing."

"Okay! Yeah, that's not that bad. You made it originally sound like he got mad. Honestly George I think all you really did was spook him."

"Spook him?" George replied unsure. Dream was not the type to get...spooked. He had all the confidence in the world. Nothing spooked Dream. 

"Yeah spooked him. He probably got nervous and didn't know what to do. I'm sure if you just talked to him-"

"Ant. No. I can't talk to Dream. Stop suggesting it. Talking is not a solve all solution to relationships Ant-" 

"Actually, dick, communication is key. So I suggest you start taking my advice before I stop giving it. Got it?" 

George mumbled an okay in embarrassment. Maybe Ant was right, George needed to stop being a little bitch and just talk to Dream like a normal person. Dream was his bestfriend after all, his bestfriend that he used to tell everything. "Great now hang up this phone and go talk to him. Got it?" 

"Got it."

They said their goodbyes and George tossed his phone on his bed. He anxiously bit his lip before striding to the door. He wrapped his hand around the door handle and paused. 

_I can do this._

He threw open the door just as Dream was throwing open his own. They stared at each other silently before chuckling nervously. George shut his door behind him and strode slowly toward the other boy. Dream left his own door open, hand still gripping the handle as if he were frozen. "Can we...can we talk?" George whispered clasping his hands in front of him nervously. Dream blinked then rapidly nodded his head causing George to giggle. Dream smiled widely as if he had heard George laugh for the first time ever. George bit the inside of his cheek desperately trying to form a sentence in his mind.

"Are you mad?" The two boys had said it in unison, causing them to break out in laughter. George settled down first and searched Dream's eyes. "I'm sorry. I know I must have made you uncomfortable and I'm not going to try and make excuses so...sorry." Dream stared back at him silently causing George to squirm under his gaze. Communication may be key but only if both parties actually spoke.

"George listen...I'm not mad. I never was mad, I was..." Dream paused searching for the word. 

"Spooked?" George offered.

Dream smiled. "Yes, spooked."

"I'm still sorry, I mean no straight guy wants to be felt up by a gay guy right?" George chuckled nervously but Dream only watched him. George cleared his throat realizing how dry it was. 

"George I need to tell you something." 

George froze. This was it. Dream was going to tell George he hated him and never wanted to see him again. He was probably going to hand him the plane ticket and order him to get his own ride to the airport, not wanting to be anywhere near George. He felt light headed but somehow felt himself nod. Dream sucked in a quick breath and looked anywhere but at George, only causing his heart to sink more. 

"I...I'm...gay." Dream looked down and ran a hand through his hair nervously. George pursed his lips, silently celebrating. He nodded and glanced around the landing. Dream looked up at him in confusion. "Um...did you hear me?" George nodded. Dream's eyebrows furrowed and he crossed his arms protectively across his chest. "So what...that's it?"

George grinned wickedly. "Yeah now you know how I feel. You and Sapnap acted like all I had said was that the sky was blue."

Dream wheezed and pushed George playfully. "Oh shut up what kind of reaction did you want then? We're dudes that was the best we had in us."

"Well I'm a dude too so what kind of reaction did _you_ want?"

"Touché," Dream smiled and sighed in relief. "Wow I feel like I just lost fifty pounds. Now three whole people know." George looked at Dream quizzically. 

"Three? Who all knows?"

Dream shook his hair sheepishly. "Well you, Sapnap, and...Ant."

George folded his arms across his chest and scoffed. "So you told Ant before you told me? You're bestfriend? Wow." 

"I know! I'm sorry I didn't know how you'd react I was nervous, can you forgive me?"

George sighed dramatically and pretended to think about it. "Yeah I guess, only because I also told Ant before I told you." Dream's jaw dropped and he scoffed. 

"George!"

George laughed and ran back to his room before Dream could question him more. This backfired however as Dream chased after him, tackling him onto the bed. "You hurt my feelings Gogy! Apologize!" George giggled crazily and shook his head. "Never!" 

"Then I'm not getting up, goodnight Georgie." Dream dropped all his weight on George and pretended to fall asleep, complete with fake snores and everything.

George struggled underneath Dream realizing just how heavy he was. "Dream no, I can't breath you're too fat."

"And now you're body shaming me! George I'm going to need a formal apology for that too."

George sighed and quit his pathetic struggling. "Clay, I’m sorry can you ever forgive me?" George cooed into his ear. Dream was silent for a long time before clearing his throat and sitting up. 

"Of course George, now get up I'm hungry. Let's order a pizza."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four different songs came on about wanting to be more than friends while I was writing this and I just thought it was hilarious. Thanks for reading!


	14. Pineapple On Pizza

"You're disgusting. I can't believe you."

"Dream-"

"No! Don't try and defend yourself. I- I can't even look at you. You and your disgusting pineapple pizza."

George rolled his eyes and took another bite of what Dream called "mans worst creation". In his defense Dream asked him what he wanted, he didn't have to get him the pizza if he was really that revolted. 

"I don't know if we can continue this friendship, I mean next you're going to tell me you like anchovies on your pizza."

"Dream! I am appalled. I can't believe you think so little of me." George closed his eyes and draped his hand dramatically across his forehead. Dream chuckled and threw his balled up napkin at him earning a swift smack to his arm. "Besides, have you even tried pineapple pizza? Or do you just think you won't like it?" Dream studied George before reaching over and snatching his pizza he had already half eaten. "Dream-" George began to protest as Dream held up a hand to shush him. 

"This is for you Gogy."

Dream closed his eyes as if he were in pain earning an eye roll from George. Taking the smallest bite in history Dream chewed slowly before plopping George's pizza back on its respected plate.

"So?"

"Negative ten out of ten."

George shook his head trying to hide his smile. "So dramatic."

Dream grinned at him as he took a bite out of his own boring peperoni pizza. They finished their meal in their familiar comfortable silence, the only interruption being Patches trying to sneakily steal a piece. When they were done Dream took both plates and retreated to the kitchen leaving George in the dining room by himself. 

Dream didn't lie about his cleanliness not that it would be too hard. The entire house only had the bare minimum in each respected room. The dining room had only the dark oak table George sat at with a large red Kashan rug underneath it. Both doorways were open square arches and George could hear Dream washing the dishes in the kitchen. He picked up the pizza box and carried them into the kitchen, strangely not wanting to be alone in the house despite Dream only being a few meters away from him. Dream had his back to George facing the sink. George entered the room quietly and placed the pizza box on the island's marble countertop. He leaned against it on his elbows and watched Dream, feeling a bit like a creep. Before George could announce his presence Dream turned off the faucet and whipped around. George watched humorously as Dream jumped in fear and grabbed onto the counter behind him. "George! What's wrong with you?"

George laughed as Dream dried his hands on a hand towel. He scowled as he snatched the pizza box off the counter and tossed it into the fridge. "I didn't mean to scare you, really. I was about to say something but you turned around before I could."

Dream shook his head and made his way to the island. "I could have decked you."

George threw his had back in laughter. "Oh please you jumped so high I'm surprised you didn't hit your head. And from all the way over there? What would you have done? Dove over the island?" 

Dream scoffed as he leaned on the counter, hands gripping the edge. "I could have, I'm a lot bigger than you Georgie." George felt his pulse begin to quicken. From his position Dream was towering over him and he had to look up to make eye contact, not unlike just standing next to the man. Dream was right, he was much bigger than George, not just height wise. Dream was surprisingly built. His arms were incredibly defined and his stomach had been toned when George-

"So what are our plans for this week?" George choked out, paranoid Dream knew what he was thinking about. Dream huffed looking around. 

"I don't know I was just planning on asking you guys what you felt like doing, I didn't plan on it just being you and your indecisive self." 

"I am not indecisive." 

Dream leaned closer and smirked causing George to instinctively back up. "Okay then what do you want to do Georgie?" Gorge looked down at Dream's hands desperate to break eye contact. He was gripping the counter so tightly his knuckles were turning white. George coughed nervously and backed away from the island. 

"I guess we could...go to the beach? I don't really know how cold it gets in Florida."

Dream shook his head and released the poor countertop. "Don't worry it stays warm pretty much year-round." He gripped his own wrist and raised arms above his head in a long stretch, complete with a dramatic yawn. As he did so his shirt rid up and George quickly glanced at the exposed skin practically passing away at the sight of veins that seemed to mysteriously disappear past Dream's sweatpants. George leaned back over the counter, trying to stabilize himself. "Is that cool?"

George's eyes darted back up to Dream's. "Pardon?"

Dream looked at him quizzically, arching one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Do you want to go to the beach yes or no?"

George cleared his throat and began to nod his head like an idiot. "Yeah, yeah , yeah. Sure. C-cool." He internally screamed at himself for stuttering. Dream seemed to be staring into his soul.

"So...do you want to watch a movie or something? If you're tired and just want to go to bed that's cool too." Dream rubbed the back of his neck nervously. It seemed as if the two couldn't go longer than ten minutes without getting nervous in each others presence. 

"Sure, lets watch a movie."

~~~ 

"You know, I never thought of you as a rom-com watcher."

Dream chuckled sleepily and shifted his eyes to George's. "Rom-coms are a gift to the world."

George chuckled and rose from the couch catching Dream's attention. "Where are you going?"

"Calm down Dream I'm not running away, I'm just going to the bathroom." Dream rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the awful rom-com he had picked. George began to walk away and suddenly remembered Dream had never told him where the bathroom was. Awkwardly, George walked back to the couch to get his attention. "Where exactly is the bathroom?"

"There's one right down that hallway." Dream replied lazily, his eyelids heavy. George followed where Dream pointed and opened the first door he came to. The bathroom was small and lacked a shower. George quickly used the restroom and washed his hands with a very basic citrus hand soap. When he glanced up into the mirror he did a double take. The reflection didn't match the one George had become used to seeing. His dark circles seemed less noticeable. He seemed less...drained. Maybe coming to Florida _was_ just what he needed or maybe it was the lighting. He exited the bathroom to find the horrendous, cliché filled movie still playing. As he approached the couch he was surprised to find Dream fast asleep. 

_So he did sleep._

It seemed weird to George, almost like Dream wasn't a real person that did normal human things. Obviously Dream slept but having him constantly available to talk anytime George wanted had made it seem like he didn't and if he did it was quick power naps at most. George checked his phone to find it was only eleven o'clock, much too early for Dream to fall asleep. He slowly sat down on the couch next to Dream, scared to wake him. Dream had somehow fallen asleep in an upright position, the tv lights dancing across his beautiful face. George poked him softly in the side causing him to stir every so slightly. George stared at his face in amazement, wondering how someone could be so perfect. His eyelashes were dark despite his blonde hair and they brushed across his cheeks gracefully. The freckles that dotted his cheeks and nose looked like each one was placed with purpose. His lips were a soft pink and his bottom was a bit larger than the top. George resisted the urge to reach out and brush them with his fingertips. His jaw gave way to a bit of stubble. His Adams apple was prominent and his shirt hung loosely over his defined collarbones. George felt so out of place next to such a beautiful man. His heart dropped as he knew there was no chance someone so perfect would want to be with someone like George.

"Enjoying the view?"

George nearly shit his pants.

He stayed silent as Dream opened his eyes lazily probably to see George mortified. Dream had caught him staring. George didn't even know how long he'd been staring. 

"What time is it?"

"Late."

Dream chuckled as he rose from the couch leaving George to stare at the vacant spot. "Ah yes, late, my favorite time of night."

"You have a favorite time of night?"

"I do now."

George mumbled idiot under his breath, addressing himself more than Dream. Dream rubbed his neck as he picked up the remote, flipping off the tv and leaving them in darkness. The two sat in the strange atmosphere for a good minute before George finally rose from the couch and followed Dream toward the stairs. Upon reaching the landing, finally returning to the light, they each went their separate ways. Dream turned as he arrived at his door and smiled sleepily. "I uh...don't know if you heard me earlier but I'm really glad you're here George. Goodnight...love you." Dream hurriedly entered his room leaving George standing in complete shock. He felt as if he were paralyzed, surprised his legs were still holding him up. He wasn't shocked by Dream saying he loved him he was shocked by Dream's...expression. 

He blushed. 

Dream blushed.

Dream blushed when he told George he loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hot take:  
> Pineapple on pizza isn’t that bad.  
> Also I love rom-coms I don’t know why I put so much rom-com slander in this. Anyway thanks for reading! <3


	15. Sandy Car Rides And Alec Benjamin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won’t be able to update this as much because I start school again tomorrow and cheer is also starting again. I will try and update as much as I can but I still want the chapters to be decent and not super rushed. Having said that this chapter is not decent and was super rushed, sorry. :(

George didn't get a wink of sleep. 

His thoughts were too loud and his sleep schedule was already screwed up. 

He had only spent one day in Florida and so much had already happened. He didn't know if he could last six more days alone with Dream. Rubbing his eyes George sat up and crawled out of bed. He trudged out of the room and turned to his right as the mysterious middle door opened up to reveal a half nude Dream. 

"Morning."

George pivoted and marched straight back into his room, where he promptly flopped onto the bed stomach first and quietly screamed into his pillow. Dream had acted as if it were the most casually thing in the world. As if wearing just a towel around his waist in front of his bestfriend was the most normal thing in the world. George definitely couldn't last six more days and probably not even the next two weeks with Sapnap there. He couldn't believe how comfortable Dream was walking in front of him with nothing but a thin white towel hiding him. It didn't help that his stomach was incredibly toned and George finally got to see it in the light. Although he didn't get to soak in the view as the first sight of it caused him to black out for a minute. 

George heard the faint sound of footsteps retreating from the second story. He quickly composed himself and got dressed in simple blue jeans cuffed at the bottom and a grey t-shirt. He poked his head out the door, quickly glancing left then right before exiting his room and entering the new found bathroom. This bathroom was much larger and contained a walk in shower. George quickly brushed his teeth, avoiding the small water droplets Dream had left behind. The bathroom was surprisingly cold, no trace of steam to be found. George smiled to himself, recognizing the sign of a cold, miserable shower. He quickly exited the bathroom and jogged down the stairs, once again not liking how alone he felt in the house. He found Dream in the kitchen cooking scrambled eggs. 

"I'll announce my presence this time so you don't piss yourself."

Dream flinched slightly earning a suppressed giggle from George. "Keep it up and you won't be getting breakfast twinkle toes."

"Twinkle toes?"

"Yeah you got an extremely light tread, I can never hear when you're coming."

George scoffed and leaned against the island. "Would you prefer me to stomp like you?"

Dream whipped around to face George, feigning hurt. "I do not _stomp_."

"Yeah you do."

Dream ignored George's remark and brought over two plates, each with a pile of scrambled eggs and two pieces of buttered toast. "Coffee twinkle toes?" George rolled his eyes but graciously accepted the warmth of the coffee. His hands seemed colder than usual. 

"Do you just crank the AC and leave it like that all year? It's freezing in here."

Dream took a large bite of his toast and thought on George's question. George felt as if it didn't need to be thought on. "Were you cold last night? You could have came and snuggled with me." Dream wiggled his eyebrows earning a look of disgust from George. 

"You're such an idiot."

They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence, both seeming a bit sleepy as if the night was spent with shared restlessness. George sipped his coffee carefully, mainly wanting to use the warmth for his icy hands. He figured once they headed down to the beach he would warm up and decided a hoodie wasn't needed. 

"So I talked to Sapnap last night." Dream commented as he picked up the now empty plates and brought them to the sink. George watched his back as he washed the dishes, waiting for him to continue. "He said he can be here on the 4th instead. His mom feels bad that he's missing so much of the trip. Is that cool?"

George nodded slowly, silently celebrating. That was one less day he had to be alone with Dream. Things were looking up.

"Of course."

~~~

"You said it would be warm."

"It is warm it's just a bit windy as well."

George folded his arms across his chest, trying to fight the chill. Dream was right, it was warm, but the wind was anything but. The beach itself was beautiful, the sand soft and warm unlike the coarse sand on the beaches George had been to in the past. The water was a beautiful crystal-like blue and roared quietly as they walked along it. They had been chatting ever so often as they walked, enjoying the sounds of the ocean more than the chatter of ideas for new videos. George ignored the goosebumps on his arms as they walked but soon gave in to whining as he tended to do. "I'm freezing." George grumbled looking out at the water. Dream chuckled lightly.

"Here take this Princess, since you're so cold."

George froze in place as Dream held out his hoodie. It was a simple gesture, and Dream was probably only offering to shut George up, but it made George's heart race. With slightly trembling hands that George hoped Dream would chalk up to the cold, he took the hoodie and quickly threw it on. His sense of smell was attacked by the familiar sweet scent of strawberries and a hint of Dream's cologne. He wished more than anything he could die in that hoodie. 

"George? You good?"

George snapped his attention to Dream who was a few paces ahead of him. "Y-yeah I just look kind of dumb in such a big hoodie." The material stopped at his upper thigh and made him look like a child who stole his older brothers hoodie. 

"Nah you look adorable Georgie, now come on we're climbing up that giant sand dune even if I have to carry you in my arms." Dream chuckled and began forward again, a large sand dune in the distance his main priority.

"Please do." George muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something?"

"No...no I did not."

~~~ 

George did not see why they were climbing the sand dune. Why did so many people have a need to be up high. It made no sense. As if humans were programmed to seek high ground at all times. George figured that would be a good instinct if a tsunami hit but there was so tsunami and he was tired. Dream had practically made it to the top already and called jokingly down to George to hurry up. George, however, took his time. If Dream wasn't going to carry him in his arms like his lover than he was going to take his sweet ass time ascending the damn sand dune. George was getting frustrated. 

"You're almost there Georgie."

"Call me Georgie again and I'll throw you off this wretched thing."

"Right sorry I forgot you prefer Kitten."

George shot his eyes up to a smirking Dream and raced up the hill in order to attack. Dream screamed like a mad man and ran from George's angry fist. Once George reached the top however he lost all energy to kick Dream's ass and sat down. He laid back on the soft sand and closed his eyes, feeling someone sit next to him. Dream sighed causing George to open one eye and glance at him. He sat with his knees up, his elbows resting on each. His played with something in one of his hands absentmindedly. "So..." He began, looking a bit unsure of what he wanted to say.

"So?" George pushed.

Dream glanced down at George before staring back out at the ocean. Kids could be heard screeching with joy down below, seagulls fought to be heard over them. George closed his eyes again desperate to hear the comforting sound of the ocean once more. "So," Dream began once again. "My mom wants us to come over for dinner soon. I asked her to wait for Sapnap but thought maybe we should just get it over with. What do you think?"

George's eyes shot open and he sat up. The idea of meeting Dream's family absolutely terrified George. He wasn't close with his own family and tended to be extremely awkward around other people's. Plus it was the family of the man he was hopelessly in love with. "Well I don't really mind." George really needed to stop saying the exact opposite of what he was thinking. 

"Really? I figured you would want to wait for Sapnap but knowing my mom she'll just ask us to come over again once he gets here. At least then you'll have a one up on him by getting to meet her first. Although technically you already have." George chuckled at the memory of telling Dream's mom he was her sons boyfriend over the phone and her inviting him to dinner. If only he were telling the truth.

"When were you thinking?"

Dream pondered the question, once again fiddling with the small object in his hand that upon further inspection was just a plain grey rock, seemingly smoothed by the sand. "I don't know maybe Wednesday? I had something planned for tomorrow and we promised the fans we would stream on Tuesday after you guys were a bit more settled in."

"Oh you have something planned for tomorrow? I thought you said you were making us decide." George smirked, extremely curious at what he could have planned. 

"Well I thought of it last night and before you ask, no I'm not telling you what it is. It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises." George grumbled laying back down on the warm sand. The wind had died down but George still felt a small chill. George heard Dream sigh as he shifted around on the dune. Suddenly George felt something on his stomach and opened his eyes to see Dream had laid his head on him. George felt panic rise in his chest but quickly shut his eyes and pretended to not have noticed. 

"You make such a nice pillow Gogy, I could just fall asleep."

"Speaking of sleep, I noticed you took a cold shower this morning, did you have some _bad_ dreams?" George smirked to himself, wanting to try and fluster Dream. 

"First of all, creepy that you know that. Second, you don't want to know about my dreams George. Trust me."

George opened his eyes only to find Dream's own eyes locked onto him. "Why not?" It came out scratchy, as if he hadn't talked in a long time. Dream chuckled and turned his head to face the sky.

"We should head home."

George frowned and pulled his phone from his jean's pocket. "It's only 2 o'clock."

"Yeah well, I've got some work I've got to do...I hope you don't mind." With that Dream stood up and dusted the sand off of him. George's frown turned into a forced smile. 

"I don't mind."

He very much did mind.

Obviously George knew that his visit wouldn't put a hold on everything else in Dream's life but that was when he thought Sapnap would be coming to keep him company. Now the idea of sitting alone in that big house while Dream was locked away in his room made him anxious.

"Great."

Dream held out his hand and George graciously took it but pulled back instantly. "Ow Dream! You shocked me!" Dream wheezed annoyingly and held his stomach while doing so, forgetting about George on the ground. George rolled his eyes and hoisted himself up. They slowly made their descendent down the dune, nervous about losing footing and tumbling down. Once they arrived back at the car, Dream grabbed George's arm. He was about to turn around but was held in place by the shoulder. 

"You are not getting into my car with all this sand on you, or I will personally make you pick each and every grain of sand out." George was about to protest that he forgot but was shocked into silence as Dream himself began sweeping off the sand on George's back. He stopped before reaching past his lower back and cleared his throat uncomfortably. He finished by playfully running his hand through George's hair and then proceeded to his side of the car. George stood still for a good minute before he shook his head and climbed into the car. Dream coughed nervously. "Sorry if that was weird...I didn't mean it to be."

George flicked his eyes to Dream who's own eyes were glued to the road. "I-it wasn't weird, I just didn't...expect it? That was a weird way to put it." George choked out the last sentence, desperate to make himself shut up. Dream chuckled awkwardly and reached for the radio.

The two boys sat in the awkward atmosphere as some random pop song played in the background. Dream mumbled something about it being stuffy and rolled down his window, laying his arm along the sill. George played with his hands nervously as he looked out at the calm ocean passing by. George wished he could be swallowed up by those waters, never to be seen again. 

"Oh hell yeah! I love this song." Dream cheered turning up the radio as Alec Benjamin's familiar voice filled the car. He began singing along, very poorly. George threw his head back in laughter and wrapped his arms around himself to shield his torso from the fierce wind entering the car, breathing in the sweet scent of Dream's hoodie. Dream beat his hand against the steering wheel like a make-shift drum and carried on, screeching like a banshee. The atmosphere had changed in a mere minute. It felt how it should have from the very beginning. No awkward glances, no nervous coughing, just Dream acting like an idiot and George enjoying the show. George suck into the leather seat, closing his eyes and breathing in the faint salty air. For the first time since coming to Florida he felt entirely at peace, his migraines a distant memory. 

And all because of a sandy car ride and Alec Benjamin.


	16. Pretty Privilege

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for taking so long to update! Life man, you know? Anyway this chapter is like four thousand words so enjoy because they will never be this long again. Thank you for reading! <3

George awoke to Patches' fur pressed against his cheeks. He shifted slightly, trying not to disturb her, only for her to quickly leap off the couch and scurry away. George sighed and sat up, suddenly aware of how sore his back was. Dream was rich, couldn't he at least buy a comfier couch?

Upon coming home from the beach Dream locked himself in his room to work. George took the time to take a long, warm shower desperate to rid himself of the grains of sand that seemed to be endless. Without anything to do and feeling a bit drained George promptly fell asleep on the couch. He checked his phone and found it was already six p.m. 

Stretching his back out despite how little it helped, George stood and made his way upstairs to see if Dream was finally done with his work and would give George attention. He inwardly cringed at how needy he sounded but continued on his mission. Although, once he reached Dream's door he lost all confidence. He had yet to step foot in Dream's room since arriving and it somehow seemed wrong of him to think he was allowed. Dream hadn't even shown George his face until meeting him in person so it made sense that he must be a very private person and wouldn't want George poking around in his personal space. This understanding backfired in George's brain as it immediately made him curious as to what Dream would have to hide. Taking a deep breath and raising his slightly trembling hand, George knocked lightly on the intimidating door and called Dream's name softly. 

"Yeah?"

George stood still and listened to the signs of life on the other side of the door. He heard a chair creak backwards slightly. It seemed to be waiting on George's answer. "Nothing I just wanted to see if you were still in there. Sorry to disturb you." George pivoted on his heel to return to the desolate downstairs. 

"You can come in and sit if you want." Dream called through the barrier of the door. George froze as his heart leapt in excitement. He faced the door again and laid a hand on the doorknob, turning it slowly. He became instantly dizzy by the strong smell of strawberries and slight hint of vanilla. He was surrounded by it, couldn't escape it, not that he wanted to. He entered the room shutting the door softly behind him. Dream sat at a desk to the left of the door and watched George enter before turning back to his monitor. George looked around the room, soaking in everything he could. Although the rest of the house was scarcely decorated Dream's room was filled with personal items and décor. His bed was pushed into the far right corner, the edge of it lingered beneath a large window. It had a large, dark grey comforter encasing it and four plump, white pillows resting against the headboard. Next to the bed was a bedside table with books and other trinkets scattered across it. His dresser matched the one in George's room with the exception of his personal items, such as his cologne, a watch, a picture frame, and a random Rubik's cube sitting upon it. The picture frame contained six smiling faces, Dream's perfect face easily spotted among them. A bookcase sat snugly in the far left corner, filled with books that George couldn't make out the titles of and knickknacks scattered throughout. Next to said bookcase was a cat bed that sat empty. On the wall that his desk and monitors were pushed against, fan art littered the wall, along with what looked like letters, probably from fans as well. 

"You can sit on the bed if you want." Dream called casually, eyes glued to the screen. George made his way to the bed awkwardly and sat at the end of the bed, looking out the window. "Sorry for being cooped up in here all day, I feel like a bad host."

George flicked his eyes over to Dream and stared at his back. "Don't worry about it, I just felt a bit weird sitting downstairs by myself. This house feels kind of...lonely." 

Dream sat quietly the sound of his mouse clicking and his fingers hitting the keyboard the only noise in the room. George wondered if he hadn't said his thought out loud and wondered if he should say it again before Dream spoke up. "Yeah it always feels like that. You'll get used to it." Dream sounded...drained. George frowned at the thought and sighed heavily, before falling backwards onto the bed, his legs still hanging off. The sound of Dream's chair turning could be heard and George was glad he couldn't see Dream's face. They sat in silence, both seemingly unsure of the next move. George thought about getting up and leaving when he heard the chair creak once more and felt Dream move toward him. George forced his eyes shut before Dream reached him. He gulped nervously as he felt the tan man hovering over him and almost opened his eyes before Dream promptly plopped down on top of him. George huffed out the air in his lungs and shot his eyes open. 

"Dream!" George yelped only earning a giggle from the other boy. "Get off you're heavy."

Dream whined in George's ear. " _I'm tired_. Let me lay with you Georgie."

"I don't see what that has to do with you laying on top of me." 

"Because you're so comfy and you smell so nice."

George felt the blood rush to his cheeks. He suddenly became extremely aware of Dream. His hair brushing across his face, his arms wrapped around George's neck, and how warm he was. George had abandoned Dream's hoodie after his shower and seemed to have a slight chill that followed him henceforth. This chill was soon forgotten as all George could feel was the warmth Dream put off. It was so comforting and made George want to close his eyes and fall into a deep sleep. This was, however, prevented by Dream's fingers absentmindedly playing with George's hair, causing his heart to race uncontrollably. Dream chuckled slightly. With horror George realized that Dream could feel how fast his heart was beating. "Off. Get off. Now."

"What-" Dream began but was quickly cut off. 

"I said off. Get off of me now Clay!" George yelled and began thrashing from underneath him in a panic like a two year old throwing a fit.

Dream sat up in confusion as George scrambled off the bed. "Sorry I didn't mean to get mad. I just started to feel...um...claustrophobic." Dream knew George was lying but thankfully didn't push it and quietly apologized. George watched as he flopped back on the bed, his arms behind his head as a makeshift pillow. 

George stood by the bed awkwardly and decided to move to the bookcase, as far away from Dream as he could. He glanced over the titles, not really knowing any of them. He found another picture frame, smaller than the one on the dresser, tucked into one of the shelves. He picked it up gently and smiled. It held the face of a young smiling Dream holding a newborn, presumably his sister. The young Dream looked so proud and smiled widely. George set it back down and made his way back to the bed. He sat to the right of Dream and watched his head turn toward him. The stared into each other's eyes silently before laughing and turning away sheepishly. Dream sat up and reached into his pocket and pulled out the rock he had been playing with at the beach. Silently, he placed it in George's hand before standing up and walking out the door. George stared at the rock in confusion before getting up and following Dream. After tucking it into his own pocket, he followed Dream downstairs and into the kitchen where they ate leftover pizza for dinner and talked about nothing of importance. 

After dinner Dream went straight back to work leaving George alone once again. The house seemed scary on his own yet he didn't understand why. Back in England George lived alone and never once felt like this. It was as if just getting to be with Dream as little as he did made him crave it more and more. He didn't like this feeling of borderline dependence and forced himself to sit alone in the living room and watch tv. He was a grown man and didn't need to follow Dream around like a lost puppy. He picked a random show and settled into the couch to watch it but his mind wandered. It felt as if Dream were distancing himself. George knew he had work to be done but couldn't help the feeling that Dream had built a barrier between them after they arrived home from the beach. It didn't help that George freaked out on him earlier. He didn't mean to get upset but he didn't like Dream knowing how he made George feel. It almost made it feel like Dream was teasing him. 

George stifled a yawn and decided to give up on siting alone downstairs like an idiot and just go to sleep instead. He trudged up to his room and glanced at Dream's door one last time before entering his own and promptly going to sleep. 

~~~

George groaned in his sleep, pulling a pillow over his head to block out the noise that was invading his peaceful slumber. Loud music mixed with a machining made this impossible. George huffed and threw off his blanket, stomping downstairs to see what the racket was. He froze and held in a laugh as he watched Dream dance around the living room with a vacuum. His tv was the culprit for the music and showed the song title "Don't Trust Me". Dream had his back to the stairs, and unknowingly, George as well, as he bobbed his head and shook his hips with the music. George sat on the bottom step and watched in amusement. Dream was an awful dancer. 

He slowly began to turn as he vacuumed the other half of the living room and did a double take when he saw George. He placed a hand dramatically over his heart as if George had given him a heart attack and turned off the vacuum, the music playing on. "Stop scaring me or I'll put a bell on you."

"Don't mind me just enjoying the show. It's nice knowing there are things you aren't good at." 

"What? What am I not good at?" Dream folded his arms across his chest defensively but grinned widely. 

"Dancing, you look like you're having a seizure."

Dream threw his head back in laughter. "I am a great dancer thank you very much."

George rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say. Also thank you so much for blasting music and vacuuming while I was sleeping. I really appreciated it." 

Dream smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, but in my defense it's already one in the afternoon."

George's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe he had slept that long. He hadn't slept that long in months. The more he thought about it, he did think he felt more rested than he usually did. He also couldn't even remember the last time he had had a migraine. More and more signs were telling George that coming to Florida had been the right decision as he felt more like his old self, even being able to joke around easier with Dream like he used to. 

"You know I did have something planned for today but if you're still tired we could just stay in." George snapped out of his thoughts and stood up from his seat on the stairs. 

"No I'm not tired, we can still go out."

Dream nodded but seemed to search George's eyes for a lie. "Alright we can head out now if you want. I can finish vacuuming while you get ready." George nodded in agreement and trotted back up the stairs and into his room. Dream hadn't told him where they were going so he settled on dark blue jeans and white hoodie, purposefully ignoring Dream's hoodie laying on the floor next to him. He walked into the bathroom and quickly brushed his teeth as he heard the vacuum turn off followed by the music. He raced back into his room to grab his phone and spray on some cologne before going back down the stairs to meet Dream at the bottom. He looked him over before turning away, causing George to look _himself_ over to see what Dream was looking at. 

"Was hoping you'd come down here in my hoodie but oh well." With that Dream grabbed his keys and left the house, leaving George stunned and frozen in his spot. A good minute passed before George finally stumbled forward and out the door. He entered the car and buckled silently before sinking down into the seat and averting his eyes out the window. Dream flipped on the radio and pulled out of the driveway, seemingly unaware of how flustered George was. They drove for a good twenty or so minutes before the car came to a smooth stop. George looked out the window and inwardly groaned. "Alrighty you ready Georgie?"

George lazily turned his head to Dream in annoyance only making Dream smile wider. "I hate you."

"Don't say such hurtful things George or I may start to believe it." Dream laughed as he exited the car. George followed suit, making a show of slamming the door. 

"Believe it."

Dream laughed as George walked up next to him, and threw an arm casually over his shoulder. "Calm down George it'll be fun."

"Yeah for you. I _hate_ mini golf."

~~~

"I hate mini golf!" 

Dream laughed from the other end of the course they were on, already finished with it. George however, could not get his ball through the windmills door and thus couldn't get to the other side of the course where the hole was. George swung his club, once again missing the door. He groaned in annoyance and turned away from the cursed windmill, not wanting to look at the horrid object. Dream chuckled and made his way over to George. "Calm down, let me help you."

George held out his club brightly, liking the idea of Dream just doing it for him. "Here you go, you got this, I believe in you."

Dream wheezed, bending slightly at the waist. "No George, you are going to do this yourself I'm just going to help you." George pouted, letting his club drop down and hang loosely by his side.

"Well that's dumb, but fine, I guess. Seeing as you're some pro at mini golf for some reason." George was still pretty angry that Dream even took him here, fully aware at George's hatred for mini golf. He had told Dream and Sapnap many times of his hard feelings toward the activity and told a story of how he canceled a date because the person wanted to go mini golfing. He knew Dream did it just to spite him and his anger soon mixed with his frustration of actually having to play the wretched game. Dream shook his head and stood behind George. He grabbed the club from behind George, who immediately stiffened upon feeling Dream's body pressed against his back. Dream's hands rested on top of George's and he jumped slightly as Dream's voice was suddenly in his ear. 

"You have awful aim George, you haven't been lining it up at all yet still expect it to go through."

George rolled his eyes forgetting that his crush was pressed against him and only thinking about how annoying Dream really was. "Yeah well I'm colorblind." George mumbled trying to figure out how the hell you line up a shot.

"That has nothing to do with it George." Dream mumbled back, a smile evident in his voice. Dream guided George's club over, lining the shot up for George. "You also have to swing softer, you hit the ball like it personally offended you."

"It _has_ personally offended me. It's offended me by existing." George spat as Dream guided him in swinging the club back and forth softly before making contact with the ball and sending it soaring through the windmill and disappearing on the other side. George scoffed to hide his embarrassment at how Dream helped him get it on the first try and broke from his hold to finally finish the course they were on. 

"Tell you what Georgie, you get the ball in first try and we can call it quits and go home. It's already getting dark anyway." George flushed in embarrassment at how much time they had wasted because George couldn't finish a single course without taking at least sixteen plus shots. He hated mini golf for a reason, the reason being how awful he was at it. 

"Fat chance but fine." George grumbled, lining up the shot, or at least he thought he was Dream never really explained how to do so, and swung the club at the annoying little blue ball. It rolled past the hole, a good two feet to the right of it and George threw his head back in annoyance. Dream chuckled and walked over to where the ball had ended his journey. George watched as he nudged the ball with his foot and sent it straight into the hole causing George to become more annoyed. "Whatever Mr. Perfect, lets just count it and go home. Dream nodded in amusement and picked up George's ball, his own tucked into his pocket. They returned the clubs and balls and made their way back to the car. George felt a bit better leaving the horrid place but was still a bit upset with Dream for choosing the activity. As Dream turned on the car the music from the radio returned and George relaxed into the seat. The drove in silence, not quiet comfortable but not exactly uncomfortable. 

"Are you really mad?" George glanced over to see Dream gripping the steering wheel with both hands his knuckles turning white, jaw set in worry. George sighed and tore his gaze away.

"No I'm not mad. Annoyed? Yes, but that's more at myself."

Dream seemed to think on this but his grip stayed tight on the wheel. They drove in silence until George became aware of the increase in speed. He glanced at the speedometer to see they were going 75. George felt panic rise in his chest a bit and spoke before he could stop himself. "The speed limit is 65." Dream nodded as if George had said grass is green. "You're going 75." Dream glanced down at the speedometer before looking back up at the road.

"No I'm not, I'm going 87."

George's mouth dropped in exasperation. "That's even worse Dream, slow down."

Dream's eyes flicked over to George shining wildly and he smirked. "Aw Georgie if you're scared you can hold my hand."

George scoffed, his breathing speeding up to practically match the car's own speed. "I'm not joking, slow down."

Dream pursed his lips as if he were thinking before speeding up the car more. George looked at the road as it came at them faster, the few cars on the road with them nothing more than blurs as they sped past. "Clay stop it!"

Dream released the gas pedal, his face instantly flushing red. "I'm sorry George, I...I don't know why I did that. If I scared you I'm sorry."

George laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, of course you scared me you prick! Seriously Dream you-" George never got to finish his sentence as a siren over powered him. Dream glanced into the review mirror only to be met with flashing lights. 

"Shit."

George sunk into his seat, completely speechless. Dream slowed even more and pulled off on the shoulder of the road. He parked the car but left his hands on the steering wheel. His body language made it seem as if he hadn't a care in the world, but his eyes were dark and stressed. "You don't have any drugs or anything on you Georgie, right?" He smiled playfully but George couldn't return the expression, worry taking over his facial features. "Rough crowd." Dream muttered and stared out the window, waiting for the officer. George tugged at the helm of his hoodie nervously. He had never been pulled over before and didn't know what to expect. He did however know that Dream had been pulled over multiple times and didn't think he was going to get off that easy. Dream tapped his fingers against the steering wheel the radio still playing. George reached over and turned it off right as Dream grabbed his hand. "It's best not to move until the officer gets to the window. Seeing you move and not knowing what you're doing makes them nervous." His tone was serious and George slowly sank back into his seat, even more nervous than before. Finally the officer arrived and tapped at the window. The first thing George noticed was how young she looked. She looked average height and her long blonde hair was pulled back into a smooth high ponytail. She wore very little makeup and didn't look as if she needed it. She looked effortlessly beautiful but also extremely scary with a gun resting on her hip. George had forgotten how normal guns were in America. Dream rolled down the window all the way and smiled. 

"Do you have any idea how fast you were going?" 

Dream sucked in a breath. "I believe 87 officer."

"Try 92."

Dream's eyes widened but George could tell he already knew this. "Wow, I-I really don't know what got into me. I was a little upset but that's no excuse. I apologize."

She nodded slightly. "License and registration please."

Dream reached over George and popped open the glove box. "Pardon me Georgie." 

George rolled his eyes before glancing at the officer only to find her staring at Dream. George recognized the look in her eyes but couldn't quite place it. Once Dream found the registration he settled back in his seat and handed her the paper, only to lean to the left as he fished his wallet out of his pocket. He flipped open the wallet and grabbed his license with his pointer and middle finger and offered it to the officer. She took the small card gently, grazing his hand as she did so. George knew what the look was. 

"Well, Clay, you could have seriously hurt someone. Not to mention you and your friend here."

George held back a scoff at her saying his name as if they were buddies.

"I know, I know. It was incredibly reckless of me. I shouldn't let my emotions get the best of me like that. It's just hard you know?"

She nodded sympathetically while continuing to stare at the card. "Well, don't let it happen again. I'm going to let you off with a warning, okay?" Dream smiled charmingly at her and George let his mouth drop open in bewilderment. The officer didn't notice as her eyes were locked on Dream.

"Of course, thank you officer...Lee."

"Call me Isadora."

George felt as if this was highly unprofessional.

Dream smiled coolly and leaned his arm on the window frame, his head tightly slightly. "That's a really pretty name, for a really pretty girl."

Isadora chuckled lightly and returned the registration paper along with the license. "Yeah, yeah just stay under the speed limit handsome." Dream shot her a wink and she shook her head as she walked back to her flashing car. Dream rolled up his window, smiling smugly. 

"You've got to be kidding me."

"What?" Dream asked, faking innocence. 

George scoffed and crossed his arms, staring straight forward. "Ever heard of pretty privilege?" 

Dream wheezed loudly. "Pretty privilege? I thought you were the one with pretty privilege."

"According to who?" George cried. He didn't personally think he had it and if he did he definitely had not benefited from it yet. 

"Uh according to the entire fan base." 

George shook his head, suddenly embarrassed at the idea of thousands of people calling him _pretty_. "Whatever just drive pretty boy and under the speed limit please." 

Dream chuckled deeply and leaned back.

"You're no fun."


	17. Pro’s And Con’s

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day? Don’t get used to it, it will probably never happen again. I don’t know when I’ll have time to write again so take this chapter, as a treat. ;)  
> Thank you for reading! <3

"Keep it up and I'll pull a Minecraft manhunt in real life."

"Sure you will."

George bit back a smile but it quickly fell as he heard a door swing open and footsteps coming at him, and quick. George whipped around at the dinning room table where his makeshift set up was to see Dream appear in the doorway with a wicked smile on his face. George threw off his head phones and began screaming as Dream chased him around the room, the younger boy following him as he raced upstairs and into Dream's bedroom, screeching as if it were truly life or death. "Dream stop! Leave me alone!"

Dream crackled like an evil villain. "Come here George!" 

George screamed wildly as Dream grabbed him by the waist and threw them both backwards onto Dream's bed, Dream huffing a bit as George landed on top of him. "LET ME GO!" George laughed hysterically, forgetting all about the stream and the thousands of people listening to the two boys play fight. Dream wheezed loudly as he squeezed his arms tightly around George's waist, making it impossible to escape. As they settled down, their breathing erratic from the chase, George relaxed his body and sunk into Dream's grasp. The other boy, in turn, stiffened under the suddenly soft embrace but loosened his grip on George's waist to give him some breathing room, probably scared George was going to freak out again. 

"We're still live." George whispered so the nearby mic couldn't hear. Dream mumbled something into George's hair causing chills to run up his spine. "What?" George questioned pulling his head away from the boy underneath him. Dream's eyes met his and he seemed to be searching his face. 

"I don't care." He repeated, loud enough for the mic to pick up making George nervous at what the fans might be thinking. 

"Well I do." George threw back and wiggled out of Dream's grasp and slid off the bed. 

"Wait just stay in here and talk on my mic." Dream himself had shot out of the bed and stood to face George, a mere inches apart. George stepped back nervously but nodded in agreement. Dream made his way back to the desk and leaned over the monitor to see what chat was saying. George stood awkwardly behind him, suddenly aware at the single seat at the desk. "Wanna sit on my lap Georgie?" George punched his arm at the lewd suggestion only earning a laugh. 

"Don't say stuff like that, the fans will take it and run." Dream did a small sarcastic salute and took a seat in the chair leaning down to pat the floor in front of him. George rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "What am I, a dog?" Dream smiled wickedly and pat the floor again. 

"Here boy." He barley made it through his sentence, cutting himself off with a wheeze. George sighed giving in and sitting on the floor in front of Dream, his knees pulled up so he could rest his elbows on them, Dream's own legs on either side of him. Dream pulled the microphone closer so George's voice could easily be picked up as George closed his eyes and leaned his head back resting it on the edge of Dream's chair, feeling a bit tired. They had been streaming for almost three hours, the chat throwing questions left and right at them. George had started to feel drained only an hour in but Dream was extremely hyper, not having streamed in a long time and getting a slight high from the rapid attention. Since coming to Florida, George had noticed how different Dream was in person. Over the phone he always sounded so hyper and loud. Even during their one on one calls his voice made it sound as if he hadn't a care in the world. But spending almost every minute together showed the exact opposite. Of course there were still times when he was the same loud, annoying Dream but more and more often he would almost shut down. He got extremely quiet, so quiet that George couldn't even hear him breathing. On more than one occasion George had caught him sitting on the couch staring at the blank TV, his hands fidgeting in his lap, only to find him sitting in the exact same spot hours later, the TV still silent and dark. George had asked him multiple times if he was okay but Dream would only laugh it off and blame it on his ADHD. George felt as if something else was up but was scared to push it and decided that he was overreacting. He smiled now as Dream was excitedly yelling into his mic and cracking jokes left and right. He sighed in content catching Dream's attention who reached down and ruffled George's hair earning a groan of annoyance. Dream only took that as a challenge and started running his hand through George's hair. The older boy kept his eyes shut tightly as his heart rate started to pick up, a now common occurrence. Dream chuckled quietly before continuing to talk to the chat, his hand gently playing with George's chocolate brown hair. 

This went on for a good five minutes before George finally began to relax, releasing the tension in his nervous shoulders. This did not last long though as Dream's hand slowly started to move down to the back of his neck where he began grazing his fingers lightly over the exposed skin, sending an array of chills down George's spine and causing him to snap upright. Dream didn't hesitate as he moved his hand further down and began drawing circles on George's back softly. Dream continued chatting with the stream as George felt goosebumps rise on his arms and pulled his knees closer together. George started to get a sense of Deja vu and squirmed underneath Dream's hand, desperate to get away but even more desperate for his touch. It confused him how nervous it made him, his fight or flight begging for flight, but also how calming it was, his touch was so soft and safe, it felt like home. 

"Alright guys I think this is where we are going to end the stream since George is practically falling asleep. Thank you guys so much for watching, it was really fun to stream again. Love you guys, bye!" George heard the faint clicking of Dream's mouse as he powered everything off, cutting off their connection with everyone else. His hand stopped tracing George's back as he sunk into his chair, much to George's disappointment. Dream sighed causing the other boy to lean his head back and look into the blonde's dark eyes. 

"What's wrong?" George questioned, noticing the rapid drop in energy. Dream just shook his head, running a large hand over his face. 

"Nothing, just tired."

George frowned. Dream knew every time George was lying and vice versa. He wanted to know what was going on with Dream, he didn't like seeing him like this even if this was how he usually was. "Dream...can you please tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on, why would you think that?"

George scoffed feeling frustration build up at Dream's defensiveness. "Dream come on, you've seemed so...drained lately. You can tell me if something's wrong. I want to be there for you just like you are for me." Dream looked down at the smaller boy and seemed to contemplate his next words.

"I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Like what?"

"A lot."

"Name one. Only one, at least give me that Dream."

Dream sighed and threw his own head back searching the ceiling for the answer. "Fine, I still haven't come out to my family and I'm contemplating doing it tomorrow." George sucked in a quick breath. He turned his body completely around so he could face Dream head on, pulling the other boy's gaze off the ceiling. "What do you think I should do, George?" Dream sounded as if he were pleading with him, wanting him to decided instead. But George knew this was not for him to decide.

"I don't know Dream, I really don't. You know how far my experience goes with coming out. But I think its not something you should decide in the heat of the moment. I think you should really think it through. How about a pro's and con's list?" 

Dream chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest protectively. "I don't know George..." 

"I'm serious Dream it could help. Give me one pro."

Dream glanced around the room, swiveling his chair slightly. "One pro...um...my mom will stop asking when I'm going to get a girlfriend. Although, I guess then she'd start asking when I'm going to get a boyfriend." George smiled softly. George's parents never really asked about his personally life. They rarely talked and when they did it was only during the holidays. 

"Okay give me another pro."

Dream sighed running his hand through his hair, the other resting on his thigh as his popped his fingers nervously. "Okay, I guess I'd feel better. You know, getting it off my chest, I also just don't like hiding things from my parents and I guess this is a pretty big thing to hide." George nodded sympathetically, although he himself had no problem lying to his parents. 

"Okay any more pros?" Dream locked eyes with George and smiled sheepishly. 

"My mom gives really good dating advice and I could really use some."

George's own smile faltered. Why did Dream need dating advice? Who was the guy? George fought down the knot in his stomach and cleared his throat. "Okay now lets do some cons."

Dream didn't hesitate to spill out all the cons that had obviously been plaguing his mind. "Okay, what if I tell them and they hate me. What if they kick us out of the house right then and there and never speak to me again. I know my parents say they are supportive of...this kind of stuff but parents always are until its their kid. Then things are different. It's not the life they had imagined for you, and it effects them more than you think it would. I hate the idea of upsetting my parents. I hate the idea of disappointing them."

"Dream," George began, finally rising from the floor. Dream looked up at him causing George's breath to hitch at the sight of his watery eyes. "Clay they won't hate you. If you really have as good of relationship with you're parents as it seems, then it won't even be a bump in the road. They've put up with you for this long, I don't think this will bother them in the slightest."

Dream chuckled sadly, biting his lip to hold back his thoughts that threatened the fall of tears. "What about...what about Drista?" 

George hesitated. 

"What about Drista?" George whispered back in questioning. 

"She looks up to me...I'm scared she won't see me the same. I'm scared she'll...she'll see me as less." A single tear escaped Dream's waterline causing him to quickly blink as the rest were desperate to fall. George stepped closer, it being painful to see Dream so upset. 

"Clay, you're still her big brother. Nothing will change that. Drista's a good person and she won't love you any less, I promise." Dream turned his head away, trying to hide his now free falling tears, but George grabbed his head and pulled him gently toward him. Dream buried his head in George's shirt and wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. George delicately wrapped his own arms around his neck and pet his hair soothingly. The room was silent, except for the soft sniffling from Dream. For the first time since coming to Florida, George's heart wasn't racing just by being near Dream, because at that moment he just wanted to be there for him. 

As a friend.


	18. I Told My Mom About You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to quickly say thank you so much to all the new people who have bookmarked this story and left such nice comments, reading them really makes my day. Also a HUGE thank you to mayjone for helping edit this chapter, I feel like it sounds a million times better with their help and I really appreciate it. I hope you guys enjoy! <3

"Okay, I'm ready." Dream huffed. George watched as he paced up and down the small concrete path, clearly showing he was not ready. 

"Great, let's go-" George didn’t even get to finish his sentence as Dream whipped around to face his car.

"Actually wait, did I turn my headlights off?"

George glanced at Dream's parked car from where he stood on the doorstep. "It's daytime."

Dream looked at the car, squinting. "So are they off? Should I go check? The sun is going to start setting in an hour."

"Why would you...Why would you have turned them on if the sun doesn't set for another hour?" George questioned, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. They had been standing awkwardly on the doorstep of Dream's family's house for a good five minutes, Dream too nervous to enter. He had decided last night to come out to his parents and sister but was now losing his shit over the idea. 

"It's a bit cloudy as well."

George walked over to Dream, where he was standing on the pathway and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him toward the door. "Listen to me, you don't have to tell them today if you don't want to but we are going inside right now whether you like it or not. Got it?" Dream nodded solemnly. He sighed and knocked twice before pushing open the door and letting George in before following suit. 

"Mom? Dad? We're here!" Dream called nervously, shutting the door quietly behind him. George glanced around the foyer, which had more decoration in the small space then Dream's whole house. A short woman appeared in the doorway with a familiar smile. 

"Clay, what are you doing just standing there? Give your mother a hug and come in already. Hello you must be George." Her eyes shined just as brightly as Dream’s and George took her hand, shaking it while staring in awe at the extremely familiar face.

"Yes hello...um...Mrs. Clay's Mom."

She laughed the same boisterous laugh as Dream then waved her hand in the air. "Just call me Clara."

She had the same honey blonde hair as Dream, stopping neatly at her shoulders and light freckles accented her nose. Her eyes held the same bright gaze as Dream’s. Other than the large height difference, they were spitting images of each other.

Dream smiled sheepishly bending down to hug the smaller woman and planting a kiss on her cheek. They followed his mom through the house into a cozy living room where a tall lanky man sat in a chair, leaning forward at the excitement of the football game on tv. He stood upon seeing Dream and pulled him into a quick hug before plopping back down into his seat. He on the other hand looked almost nothing like Dream, their height being the  _ only  _ feature they had in common. George assumed the man to be Dream's dad, and he looked pretty plain compared to his wife and son's bright features. He had mousy brown hair and square wire framed glasses covered his dark brown eyes. He reminded George of a science teacher. The lanky man noticed George and offered his hand. 

"George I assume, I'm Dan." George took his hand, shaking it as he was reminded of Dream's own firm grasp. 

"Nice to meet you."

Dan did a double take, chuckling softly. "Huh, so you are British."

George laughed uncomfortably unsure what he meant by that.

"Of course he's actually British dad, why would I make that up?" 

Dream's dad shrugged his shoulders, not breaking eye contact with the tv. Dream shook his head, deciding it wasn't worth questioning. "Where's Drista?" Dream asked his mom as she took a seat on the couch near her husband. 

"In her room."

Dream grabbed George's arm and quickly pulled him out of the living room, dragging him up a flight of stairs. The stairway wall was covered in picture frames but Dream forced George past them much to his disappointment. "Drista! We're coming in!" Dream called before throwing open the first door they came to.

"Yeah sure, come in I guess." A voice called from inside the room. Dream dragged them in leaving the door wide open in their wake. 

Drista had the same blonde hair as her mom and Dream but much longer. She was lounging on her bed, in a white hoodie on with the hood up. She looked up from her phone to reveal the same chocolate brown eyes as her father. Smiling warmly at George, she sat up, letting her phone fall onto the bed. "Wow, the GeorgeNotFound in my house. I am truly honored." 

Dream scoffed lightly as he messed with something on her desk on the other side of the room. George hadn't even noticed him move. It seemed as if he couldn't go two seconds without fidgeting with something, and his nerves from the conversation he would be having that night didn't seem to help him settle. 

"So George, how long are you staying for?"

"Three weeks. This is my fifth day here. Sapnap is coming in two days." George shifted uncomfortably on his feet, fully aware of how awkward he sounded. It was weird enough meeting Dream in person but meeting his family took the cake. He didn't know how to act or what to say. 

"That's cool, I bet it sucks staying with just Clay though. You know seeing how he can't go more than five seconds being alone. I bet he follows you like a lost puppy."

Dream chuckled nervously and made his way back over to a confused George. He was about to ask what she meant by that before Dream cut in. "We'll be downstairs talking with mom. See you at dinner, brat."

"Leave my presence at once." 

Dream mocked her as he ushered George out of the room and closed the door loudly.

"What did she mean? You are always off by yourself. I literally have to go searching for you." Dream rubbed the back of his neck nervously and made his way to the staircase. 

"Drista was just being annoying and trying to embarrass me, ignore her." George didn't even have a chance to question him further as the blonde boy practically bolted down the stairs. George sighed and trudged slowly down the steps after him, stopping as he got to the first picture frame on the wall. The picture was of Dream and Drista at the beach, Dream using her head as an armrest. It didn't look that old, probably taken only a few years ago. George continued on, stopping and studying each picture as he passed. Dream only got younger and younger as the pictures went on, yet his smile grew brighter. Once he hit the bottom step he heard Dream's voice and followed it. 

"I just...um...it's kind of hard to tell you about them because...well-." George entered the kitchen, not wanting to ease drop, Dream's head snapping in his direction. His mom had her back turned to face the counter as she chopped something on a cutting board. "George! Hey! Hi!" Dream all but yelled, obviously trying to hide whatever he had been talking about with his mom. 

His mom, though, did not get the hint and turned to face George brightly. "George, tell me, do you know who this mystery girl is that Clay is practically losing his mind over?" 

George watched as Dream's face flushed a deep red and held back a laugh. "I'm sorry, I do not." 

She pursed her lips in thought before turning back to the cutting board. "What a shame, you know I give really good dating advice. Clay used to come to me all the time asking for help with girls and now he won't even give me a name! As if I'd even know her." She sighed to herself as Dream spun around so he wouldn't have to face George, obviously dying from embarrassment over the conversation. George wondered who the mystery girl was himself. Well...guy. Dream had mentioned him the night before and the familiar knot in his stomach he had felt then, returned. "How about you George? Got a girl you _ fancy _ ?" George giggled at her fake British accent where as Dream groaned in embarrassment. 

"Um no, I don't have a girl I...fancy." 

Dream scoffed at George for indulging his mother and he suddenly got a terrifying idea that he forced himself to implement it before he lost his confidence. "I do, however, have a  _ guy _ that I like." George bit his lip nervously, waiting for her reaction. Dream visually stiffened and whipped his head in George's direction. Dream's mom didn't even falter. 

"Well tell me about him! Is he handsome? Is he tall? What is it that you like about him?" 

George had not been prepared to actually talk about it and immediately regretted being such a good friend and taking one for the team. That is until he saw the way Dream instantly relaxed, relieved at her response. George hoped that would give him the confidence he needed. 

"Well he's...very handsome and pretty tall, taller than me. He's got a really contagious smile too." George took a seat next to Dream at their island counter. "And his eyes are really bright, like he always knows something that other people don't know. Like he sees the world differently." George smiled to himself as Dream's mom brought the cutting board over to the island so she could face George. He could tell that she was listening intently. "He's also very smart, sometimes too much for his own good. And he's always there for me, even when I don't want him to be." George laughed, earning a warm smile from Dream's mom in return. "I was actually going through a really...hard time recently. I just couldn't seem to  _ think _ . My head...it wasn't where it needed to be. I felt like I wasn't myself but he helped me through it, every step of the way. I'm extremely grateful for him." Dream's mom smiled brightly and took George's hand in her own. He froze at the sudden contact but relaxed at the vaguely familiar warmth. 

"He sounds like a really great guy, one that you're going to want to hold on to. Have you told him how you feel?"

George cleared his throat awkwardly, averting his eyes to the granite countertop in front of him. "No, I haven't. I'm...scared. We're really good friends and I really don't want to mess that up because it won't just affect us it will affect-" George froze as Dream shifted beside him. 

He had forgotten Dream was there. 

"George? Are you okay?" Her voice sounded a million miles away as his heart started beating in his ears. He shot up from the seat, almost knocking it over. 

"Um...yeah, I'm okay. Um...where's your bathroom."

"Down the hall to the left." She answered, confusion evident in her voice.

George nodded in appreciation, practically running out of the room. 

He burst through the door and closed it quickly, leaning against it. He couldn't believe how dumb he was. Dream had to have known it was him that George was talking about. Not only was he the only person George reached out to when he was struggling, he was practically George's only friend other than Sapnap and he would have to be dumber than George to think it was Sapnap he was talking about. George didn't even get to see Dream's face before he ran out. Was he mad? Was he grossed out? Was he uncomfortable? 

_ Try all of the above _ . George thought to himself sadly. 

George walked over to the sink and glanced at his reflection in the mirror. His face was slightly flushed, just coming down from the initial embarrassment. He turned on the sink, splashing cool water onto his face forcing himself to calm down. He didn't know how he was going to face Dream, especially seeing how he was going to have to sit through dinner and a car ride with him. George groaned into the sink wanting to bang his head against it. A soft knock made him jump away from the sink, denying him from the possible concussion he thought about inducing. 

"George? Are you okay?" 

George groaned quietly at Dream's worried voice and thrashed around lazily before answering. "Yeah...my head is just hurting again." George bit his cheek begging Dream telepathically to accept the lie. Dream was silent on the other side of the door. George slowly tiptoed to it, leaning close to see if he could hear anything, practically pissing himself when Dream spoke up. 

"Can I come in?"

_ No. No. No. No. You most certainly can NOT come in _ . George screamed internally. Allowing Dream to come in was the worst idea in the history of ever.

"Please George, you're worrying me."

Ok maybe not the worst idea. George could think of worse. Like going swimming in the ocean with half your arm chopped off and bleeding. 

George slowly opened the door, eyes glued to the ground. He watched Dream's feet step forward and instinctively stepped back. He closed the door quietly behind him and stepped closer yet again. This time George stood his ground, although he was shaking like a baby deer. His breathing hitched as Dream's fingers gently pulled his face up. "George, if you want to leave, say the word and we will walk straight out that door no questions asked. Okay?"

George smiled tightly and pulled his face away from Dream's light grasp. "I'm fine, I could use some Advil, but I'm fine." Dream searched his face for a good minute before giving up and opening the door again.

"If Advil is what you want, Advil you will get." 

George rolled his eyes and followed him out. "You're such an idiot." 

~~~

"So George, what's England like?" 

George glanced up from his plate where he had been nervously pushing green beans around. The rest of the family was perfectly at ease, even Dream who teased his little sister and laughed boisterously like he hadn't a care in the world. George however was practically counting down the minutes till they could leave. He didn't know why he had even told Dream's mom anything, never one to share how he felt like that. Especially to someone who was practically a stranger. 

"England is...cold I guess. It's a lot warmer here that's for sure. It also rains a lot."

"Oh well we're actually due for a bit of rain tomorrow. It's going to be a storm, a big one it seems." Dream's dad commented, trying to get George to break his silence he was so keen on keeping since the beginning of the meal. George nodded as if he was interested in this new information although he couldn't care in the slightest. 

"Maybe it will remind you of England, are you homesick at all?" Dream's mom offered, also desperate to get George talking. 

"Um no actually, I haven't felt homesick once." George mumbled seeing where this conversation might go and trying to get them to drop it. Dream's parents, however, pushed on. 

"Really? But what about all your friends and family? Don't you miss them? I mean you're thousands of miles away from them." 

George messed with his hands nervously under the table, not daring to make eye contact with anyone. "Well all of my friends are online anyway and I'm not that close with my family. We never really talk unless it's a holiday or someone in the family dies. I was usually by myself back in England so it's actually pretty nice staying with someone else." Dream's mom nodded thoughtfully, turning his words over in her mind as if she couldn't fathom the idea of only speaking to her son on a holiday or at a funeral. George knew that wasn't the norm but didn't think it was that strange. He had grown up with distant parents and could continue to live with distant parents, it didn't bother him. 

"Well what about that boy you were talking about?" 

George froze, his grip on his fork tightening. Panic began to take over his body when a glass was knocked over next to him. "Oh shit, my bad!" Dream yelled, pulling everyone's attention to his spilled glass of water. "I am so sorry guys, I don't know how that happened." Dream huffed picking up the glass in a very dramatic manner, waving his hands around in exasperation and throwing multiple napkins down on the medium sized spill. 

"Nice one Clay, real smooth." Drista mocked with a sarcastic smile. 

"Thanks Drista, I really try. You know, you've been really quiet, is something wrong?" 

George breathed out slowly in relief as Dream started grilling Drista with questions, taking the attention off of him. 

George was silent for the rest of the meal, but no one seemed to care or pushed him to talk. When they finished eating, Dream offered his and George's assistance with the dishes, dragging George away from the rest of the family and into the kitchen before George could protest. He stood off to the side of the sink, keeping the distance between him and Dream. Dream didn't ask any questions and didn't mention the water glass incident much to George’s surprise, only washed the dishes silently. Laughter could faintly be heard from the direction of the living room. 

"I don't think I want to tell my dad yet...or Drista for that matter."

Dream's voice was low and George almost didn't hear him. He moved closer to where the blonde boy was standing, eyes low. "You don't have to. You control how this goes down, you decide who knows and when." Dream sighed heavily, shutting off the faucet and turning to face George. 

"How do you always know what to say?"

George chuckled lightly and shook his head. "I don't, I actually really struggle with what to say, especially to you." George felt his face flush a bit at the confession and stared at his hands. 

"Why?"

George looked up at Dream and sucked in a deep breath. He knew what Dream wanted to hear, it was evident in his eyes. He wanted George to actually admit it, to say it was Dream he was talking about earlier. But George...couldn't. It was too much. Especially with his parents and little sister in the next room. He had so much to say, not enough time. 

"Because you're so...confident, I guess. You're always so sure of yourself, it's intimidating." 

Dream searched his eyes, his jaw set tightly. He said nothing as he turned away and left the room, leaving George standing in the kitchen, confused and alone.

Breaking from the trance Dream's sudden departure put him in, he finally left the kitchen and found his way back to the living room. When he entered the room he only found Dream's dad. He looked around awkwardly, cursing Dream for leaving him, before taking a seat on the couch. Dream's dad seemed to finally notice George and turned the tv down. "Clay asked Clara if they could talk in private." George nodded at the explanation and swallowed the lump in his throat. They sat in silence as a show George didn't know the name of played in the background. George glanced at his phone to see it was already 7 p.m. meaning they had been there for nearly two hours. George was surprised at how time had flown, seeing as it seemed to drag on during dinner. He wondered when Dream would be done talking to his mom and if they could leave afterwards. He stared blankly at the tv, his eyelids becoming heavier as time went by. George sat up alert at the sound of sniffling and looked to the living room doorway. Dream stepped into view and looked at George, his heart dropping to his stomach. Dream's eyes were puffy, his eyelashes stuck together by the remnants of tears. 

"Alright dad we're going to head out." Dream called with a raspy voice, turning around before his father could get a good look at him. His dad didn't seem to notice and returned the goodbye. George leapt off the couch, all but running to Dream's side. 

"Is she...?" George began looking up at Dream's blotchy face as they made their way to the door. George jumped at the sight of Dream's mom standing by said door, tear tracks also adorning her face. 

"No, everything is fine." Dream answered softly. 

George watched as the two hugged each other goodbye tightly, Dream's mom planting a kiss on his temple. When they pulled away, Dream hurriedly opened the door, slipping out and leaving George behind for the second time that night. George sighed in annoyance and moved to follow him. He was stopped by a gentle hand on his arm. He whipped around nervously. 

"Take care of him please, let him know how loved he is." 

George exhaled a shaky breath, suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to tell her everything. Tell her how her son was the first thing he thought about in the morning and the last thing he thought about at night. Tell her how he now caught himself looking for Dream in every room he walked into, just wanting to feel him near. Tell her how he almost fell apart by how quickly and forcefully he fell for him. Tell her he was in love with her son with every fiber of his being. 

But all he did was nod and pull away from her light grasp, chasing after the boy he felt he would be chasing for the rest of his life. 

When he slid into the car he didn't dare to look at Dream, worried he knew what he was about to confess to his mom. Dream pulled the car away from the house silently. The radio stayed quiet but George didn't mind. 

Suddenly Dream laughed. 

His body was quickly overtaken by the laugh, morphing into a loud wheeze, making George laugh as well. "What? What are you laughing at?" George questioned trying to stifle his own laughter. 

"There I was, sobbing, as I told my mother, the woman I have admired my whole life, that I was gay, and suddenly my phone goes off. I awkwardly pulled it out of my pocket and answered it and it was fucking Sapnap asking what the weather was like here and if he should pack jeans or not." Dream fought through the last sentence, his laughter taking over his words. "I'm in the middle of one of the most emotional conversations I've ever had and he's asking about the weather." 

George covered his face with his hands, his laughter shaking his whole body. They went on laughing for a while, settling down eventually and falling into a comfortable silence. 

"So, I assume she took it well?"

Dream bit his cheek, eyes glued to the road. "Yes and no. She kind of said nothing at first. She started crying as well and I figured it was just because I was crying.” Dream paused, taking a shaky breath. “Then she told me it was because she couldn’t believe that I thought she could ever hate me ." Dream smiled sadly. "She said it broke her heart. I only cried harder." Dream chuckled.

George smiled and sunk into the familiar leather seat closing his tired eyes. "I'm proud of you for telling her Dream." 

He said nothing in return and the silence allowed George to begin to slip into unconsciousness. Right before he did, however, Dream spoke up. It was so soft George wasn't quite sure if he had even really heard it at all. He smiled to himself regardless. 

_ I told my mom about you.  _


	19. Selfish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1000 HITS? THATS CRAZY THANK YOU! Also I added mayjone as a co-creator because she's really out here doing all the hard stuff while I write my silly little plot. Also the angst has started to appear in this chapter but I will warn you this is just the beginning >:). Hope you enjoy! <3

George didn't know how he got back in bed, but was eternally grateful to whatever forces had led him there. He stretched dramatically, sighing at the sound of rain forcefully pattering against his window. He opened his eyes but didn’t move, soaking in the warmth of the bed. It felt like it had been years since he was this well rested. He felt like a new man. 

He sat up, pushing away the embrace of the soft blanket and stepped out of bed. He hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Dream about last night, and they had a lot to talk about. From George practically confessing in front of his mom, to Dream’s last comment before George had fallen asleep. 

The good night’s rest gave him a new wave of confidence and he decided to face the unsaid head on. He walked out of his room with purpose and didn't hesitate before knocking on Dream's door. He didn't get a response, assuming Dream was still sleeping, and pushed the door open softly. He was met with nothing but an empty bed that looked as if it hadn't even been slept in. George frowned, glancing around the room once more before closing the door and bounding down the stairs to search the rest of the house. His confidence slowly turned to confusion then quickly morphed into annoyance. Dream had disappeared once again, leaving him alone in the house, not even leaving him a note. It wasn’t as if he really expected a note at this point, Dream had been disappearing like this since George arrived in Florida. George was about to trudge back up to his room and retrieve his phone to ask Dream where he was, when the man himself burst through the door. 

He was dripping water on the floor as he pulled off his soaked hoodie, a puddle left in his wake. Kicking off his shoes, he looked up at George, only offering him a wide grin. "It's raining out there."

George closed his eyes in annoyance. "Yes, I see that, do you need a towel or something."

"Oh that'd be swell Georgie."

George ran up the stairs, leaving the dripping man behind to stand in the new puddle he was making. When he returned, he all but threw the towel at Dream's face. 

"Oh thanks, my face had some water on it.” George only crossed his arms in response.

Dream looked around the hallway while rubbing the water out of his hair. "Did I do something?"

"Where do you keep disappearing to? You've done this everyday since I arrived here. And you never even leave a note saying where you’ve gone. It's annoying Dream." Dream kept eye contact with George as he absentmindedly rubbed his arms dry. The silence was almost deafening. George didn't understand what the big deal was. Where was he going that was so top secret? Finally Dream began nodding as if he had made up his mind and threw the towel to the ground. "Alright, you really want to know?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I said." George responded dryly. Dream was always so dramatic. 

"Okay, I’ve been going to the beach."

"The beach?"

"The beach."

George sighed in annoyance. "Why is that such a big deal that you couldn't just leave a note. And what are you going to the beach for." George remembered his call with Dream when he had been at the beach at 5 in the morning and wondered if he had been waking up that early every day he went. He always seemed to return late in the morning, borderline afternoon. Dream walked past him and started up the stairs catching George's attention. "Are you just not going to answer my questions?" George called after him, racing up the stairs to catch up. He followed Dream into his room and stood in the doorway. 

"I did answer your question, I've been going to the beach."

George's eyebrows furrowed together in frustration. "No, my other questions."

Dream mumbled something under his breath as he pulled a dark blue t-shirt out of his closet, tossing it onto the bed. "Can you speak up?" George's irritation was evident in his voice. Dream said nothing as he yanked a pair of light grey sweats out of his dresser, throwing those as well to join the t-shirt.

"Are you going to watch me change Georgie?" Dream's voice sounded as if he was trying to force the light, joking tone he usually used. George said nothing as he turned his back to Dream, not leaving the room. This earned him a slight chuckle from Dream. "Alright Georgie, I'll answer your questions, but only cause you're so cute."

George was glad Dream couldn't see his growing red face. 

"I like to go to the beach to clear my head. Simple as that. I don't leave a note because I didn't think it mattered. It's my house, my life, why do I have to explain myself to you?"

George whipped around, almost immediately regretting it. Dream had just peeled off his soaked shirt, tossing it to the ground. George stood his ground and pretended not to notice his toned stomach. "You don't _have_ to explain yourself to me. I just thought you cared enough to _want_ to explain yourself. You know I hate being in this house by myself, yet you leave me here every single day. Why can't I come with you? You know, sometimes I need to clear my head too." George knew he was sounding clingy but couldn't help it. Dream smiled tightly as he finally pulled his shirt on. 

"I can't think with you around George. Sometimes, I just need to get away from you." 

George was left speechless. All he could do was nod before turning to leave the room. Dream called after him, but George was already throwing open his door, then slamming it, shutting himself in. If Dream needed to get away from him, then he needed to get away from Dream. 

~~~

George was so incredibly bored. 

And hungry.

And he had to pee. 

He groaned into his pillow, letting his phone fall from his hands. It had been hours since his little 'fight' with Dream and his petty self had not left his room since. He wanted Dream to be the first to apologize, as usual. George's feelings had been hurt and he demanded an apology, but refused to leave his room to get said apology. Dream would have to come begging at his door or he would not accept it at all. He looked out his window to see the sun was already starting to set, the rain had never let up that entire day. If anything it seemed to get more violent. George tore his eyes away from the window and got back on his phone, desperate for a distraction. 

He really had to pee. 

~~~

George laid halfway on his bed, his head and shoulders resting on the ground. Night had fallen and the house was silent. The only noise coming from outside as rain pelted the windows, the wind roared in anger, and thunder could be heard every few minutes. George wasn't bothered by the storm outside, although the lights had flickered twice, teasing the inevitable.

He was, however, bothered by the fact that Dream had not tried to apologize once. They had each spent the day in their rooms, neither making a sound. George had heard the other boy's door open once, listening intently as he made his way down the stairs. A few minutes later the footsteps were heard once again, ascending the stairs. After that, there had been no sign of life outside George's door. 

George was getting angry. Dream was the one who said he hated being around him. Those may not have been the exact words, but that's how it had sounded to George. So why was George feeling guilty? Like, he should be apologizing to Dream. George did not like to apologize. He groaned in frustration as he slid the rest of the way off the bed, collapsing into a puddle on the ground. He stared at the ceiling blankly. 

He was not going to apologize. 

But it seemed neither was Dream. 

He sighed as he pushed himself off the floor and stood to face the door. He was a grown man, he didn't need an apology for getting his feelings hurt. He decided he was just going to simply walk out of the room and pretend that nothing had happened. Just as he made this mature decision, the lights flickered once, twice, then finally turned off completely. George leapt back onto the bed and felt around for his phone. He brushed his hand across it and grabbed the phone hurriedly. He pressed the power button only to see it had seven percent battery left. 

_Oh how cliché_ . George thought to himself as he turned on the phone's flashlight. He didn't like being alone in the house and he _definitely_ did not like being alone with no power. He shuffled to the door and took a deep breath before slowly pulling it open, almost shitting his pants as his flashlight showed a tall man standing in front of him. 

"Jesus Christ!" George screamed, jumping backwards. 

"Gah! Why did you point that right in my eye?" Dream groaned.

"What the hell are you doing standing creepily outside my door in the middle of a power outage?" George shot back as he watched Dream rub his assaulted eyes. 

"I was coming to rescue you from the darkness." 

George rolled his eyes, hoping Dream could see it in the limited light. 

"My hero."

~~~

"What does 'Sweater Weather' smell like?" George questioned, picking up a medium sized candle. Dream scoffed as he brought out some non scented candles from a drawer in the kitchen. 

"Sapnap sent that to me a while back thinking he was funny. It actually smells pretty good."

George nodded to himself as he turned the candle over in his hands. Neither boy had mentioned the events of earlier that had caused them to go into solitary. They were both silent as Dream finished pulling out the candles and began to light them. Once all were burning brightly, with exception of the Sweater Weather candle that George insisted be preserved, they brought them to the living room and spread them around. Patches was draped lazily across the couch, the lack of light not bothering her in the slightest, the candles not even catching her attention. George watched curiously as Dream moved the coffee table to the side of the room and laid down in it’s spot. He closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips.

"What are you doing?" George questioned walking over to him. 

"I like laying on the floor. It's very...grounding. Pun not intended." 

George rolled his eyes but laid down as well, their heads next to each other but bodies sprawled in opposite directions. George closed his eyes as well, searching for the grounding feeling Dream was talking about. They were silent for an unknown amount of time, the storm outside providing the only noise. "It makes time feel just a bit slower doesn't it?"

George opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling in the dimly lit room. "I don't know, maybe I guess."

Dream sighed in content. "I like it. I want all the time I can have with you."

George scoffed. "Oh really? That's why you run away to the beach without me?"

Dream was silent and George felt his heart sink, knowing Dream still wasn't going to apologize and they were going to sit in awkward silence for god knows how long. 

George felt Dream's eyes on him and turned his head to face him. They stared into each other's candle lit faces as Dream broke out into a grin. "You come here often?" George gave him a weak chuckle and turned his head away. "Come on, tell me about yourself hot stuff."

George fought a smile back. "You already know everything about me, more than anyone else actually."

"Good, I don't want anybody to know you the way I know you."

George forced his eyes to stay on the ceiling as he felt Dream's burning into him. He suddenly remembered the car ride home from Dream's parents house. "What did you...what did you tell your mom about me?"

Dream sucked on his teeth, debating his words. "Well, earlier in the night, I told her there was someone. Someone I couldn't stop thinking about. Someone who drove me crazy just by being near them. She had asked me who the girl was and I told her it was hard to explain, for...obvious reasons." Dream chuckled nervously. "After I came out to her, I decided to tell her the truth about that someone, see if she had any advice."

"What's the truth?" George's voice was barely above a whisper. Did he want to know the truth?

"The truth is that the someone is actually a British brunette who screams like a little girl and calls me an idiot more than he calls me by my name."

"Wilbur?"

Dream burst out laughing, his gaze finally leaving George's face. "Oh shut up...you know who."

George stayed silent. Of course he knew who. But he didn't want it to be said out loud. It felt...suffocating. George felt Dream's eyes on him again and fought down the lump in his throat, then turned to look at him. Their eyes locked and time seemed to freeze. 

"You have the prettiest eyes, they're like dark pools that I drown in every time I look at you."

George felt as if he couldn't breathe. 

"That doesn't sound like a good thing, drowning I mean."

Dream smiled sadly. "To me it is, because...it makes me feel something, after so long of feeling nothing at all. You make me feel again George." Dream's voice was quiet and George wished he hadn't heard him at all. "That's why I need to get away from you sometimes. I feel too much all at once. I feel like I'm choking on my own heart when I'm around you, but also as if I can't breathe without you near."

"That doesn't even make sense." George whispered, more to himself than to Dream. He wanted him to stop talking. It was too much. It was too real.

"None of this makes sense to me George...that's why it's so fucking scary."

George laughed sarcastically, turning his head away from Dream. "Oh you're scared? Try being in my shoes. I...I can't even think about you without feeling like I'm dying. It feels like I've been running a marathon these past few months and I can't even see the damn finish line. But why do I even want to get to the finish line? What's even there?"

"Us?" 

George didn't want to be in the room anymore. He screamed at his legs to make him get up and run away but they didn’t move. He scoffed. "Would 'us' even work?"

Dream shot up in a panic catching George's eyes. His face was dim in the candle light, but held a million emotions at once. Hurt, confusion, panic, all taking over his beautiful face. "What do you mean George, of course it can. It..it has to. I can't do that to myself."

George sat up as well. He felt light headed. "Do what Dream?"

"I can't go back to being just friends."

George's eyebrows shot up in exasperation. "When were we ever more than just friends?" George could hear the venom in his voice but didn't care. Dream's hurt expression morphed into one of anger. 

"Since right now. Since I'm telling you I don't want to be just friends." 

George could feel his anger show on his face. Dream just expected everything to go the way he wanted. He never once asked George what he wanted, just assumed they wanted the same thing. Grabbing the helm of his shirt in an attempt to ground himself, George took a deep breath. "That's all we have right now Dream-"

"I want more." Dream interrupted, his voice cracking with emotion. George shook his head slowly. 

"You don't always get what you want."

Dream swallowed tightly, his eyes watering from all his emotions slamming into him at once. George could feel his own eyes prickling with tears. They stared at each other silently, their bodies inches apart but their minds a million miles away. Dream released a shaky breath.

"Watch me."

Before George could ask what he meant, Dream reached forward and placed a hand on George's cheek, pulling him into a kiss. George's body tensed in shock, his hands tightening on his shirt. Dream's lips were soft and sweet but the kiss was demanding, as if he wanted everything George had to offer and more. George felt himself start to sink into it, closing his eyes as he relaxed. He had dreamed of this moment. This had been what he wanted for so long. Wasn't it?

George pulled away quickly. Both boys were out of breath despite the kiss not lasting more than ten seconds. George shook his head rapidly leaning back on his hands to try and increase the distance between them. "Clay. You- you can't mess with my head like this." His voice sounded shaky but he didn't care. Dream looked at him in confusion and irritation. 

"How am I messing with your head, I'm telling you exactly what I want." 

"But what about me?" George's voice rose with anger, Dream's face dropped in concern. "This isn't what I _need, Dream_. This is breaking me." 

Dream stared at him silently, a single tear escaping from his eyes, falling to the ground in a sense of urgency. "But what do you want George?"

George shook his head sadly. "Dream there are other people involved here. It's not just about what we want. This would affect other people, like Nick, and our other friends, not to mention the fans."

"But why does it have to be about them too? Why can't it just be about us?" Dream's voice was raw, his eyes pleading through the tears that were running from his eyes and down his face. It shattered George's heart. He reached out and rested his hand on the other's jaw, wiping his tears away gently. 

"Because that's selfish Clay." George's voice was soft as if he were talking to a hurt animal that he didn’t want to scare away. Dream closed his eyes sinking into George's hand like it was the only thing holding him up. 

"Why can't we just be selfish, just this once?"

George's breathing hitched and he acted without thinking it through. He leaned forward connecting their lips once more. Dream froze in confusion but quickly kissed him back. His hands met George's waist and the older boy could feel them trembling. George brought his other hand up and into Dream's soft honey blonde hair, running his fingers through. George could feel Dream's tears hitting the hand that rested on his face. At that moment George didn't think about the consequences, he didn't care. He just thought about the boy in front of him, praying that he would stop trembling. Wanting to be the one to soothe him. He needed the kiss like it was the last bit of oxygen available. Dream broke the kiss suddenly, keeping his face near. Both boys were out of breath again and their eyes searched each other wildly. Dream broke the silence first. "I'm sorry. For everything. For hurting your feelings earlier, for kissing you without your permission, for being selfish-"

George kissed him once more softly, savoring the way Dream melted. "It's okay."

Dream's hands were still trembling as he wrapped them around George and buried his face into the older boy's chest. "Can it be us...just for the night." George wrapped his own arms around Dream's warm body as he planted a soft kiss into his messy hair.

"Just for the night."


End file.
